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Conservation | Sustainability | Bio-Diversity | Empowerment

JUA BY AGAR

JUA BY AGAR

Introducing JUA BY AGAR

Jua by Agar is the brand name for Agar Limited’s line of essential oils made (almost) exclusively of raw materials picked and processed on the African continent., Shea butter, carrier oils, massage oils, aloe -based products among other products.

 

Certifications

Organic Certification

There is a fine line between natural, organic and “ORGANIC CERTIFIED”, all organic products are natural but not all-natural products are organic.

“Certified Organic” is a registered trademark which follows heavily regulated procedures meaning 100% organic.

Agar Ltd and its partners’ essential oils, our aloe, gum arabic, frankincense and sweet myrrh are certified or in the process of being renewed by Control Union Certifications (CUC) an international certifying body with very strict criteria.

Respecting Biodiversity

Ethical Bio-Trade

Biodiversity is one of our 4 core values at Agar, and our approach was always ethical, therefore, we became a member of Union for Ethical Bio Trade (UEBT) and are getting certified for practices of sourcing with respect.

Our gum and resins are collected sustainably, and we can help our pastoralist communities through harvesting trainings and provision of tools to ensure we respect biodiversity and give them fair prices while conserving the environment.

UEBT standard provides tools, solutions and certifications to ensure the compliances of member companies for their commitment of respecting biodiversity, conservation and human rights in accordance with Ethical Bio Trade standard.

Sustainable Sourcing

Sustainable sourcing and harvesting activities of natural gum and resins occur using tools we produce and equip collectors ourselves, making sure the trees are tapped in ways they can regenerate and exude more gums the following season.

Provision of Trainings and consultancies

We provide trainings to all our collectors and farmers, equipping them with tools, to make sure bio-diversity, conservation and traceability are assured along the entire process, including in the fundamental sorting and grading processes.

KEBS Certification

This is a Kenyan mandatory product certification scheme for locally manufactured products provided for under section 10 of the Standards Act Cap 496, Laws of Kenya.

Manufactured goods are expected to meet specified quality requirements as in the various Kenya/Approved Standards to acquire the mark

A permit to use a Standardization Mark is issued to us to certify that all our products conforms to requirements in these Standard.

IFEAT Certification

The International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades (IFEAT) – is a trade association founded in 1977; It represents the interests of companies involved in the production, processing, trading and manufacturing of the many thousands of ingredients used in flavors, fragrances and aromatherapy. To gain membership you need to be referred by two existing members and go through an assessment, so it’s not given AT ALL to be part of this sector’s association.

As a member of IFEAT, we have the privilege to access international collaboration between members and other national and international organizations, funding research and education programs, the encouragement of good practices, the dissemination of information and the provision of forums for discussion.

Since we aim to provide quality products sourced in the most ethical and sustainable way, being a member of IFEAT means an extra layer of guarantee and protection against lower standards and unsustainable sourcing.

Quality & Traceability

At Agar, we take quality seriously: With Jua By Agar the approach remained the same and Certificates of Analysis are available to certify the quality of the oils against minimum parameters.

Furthermore, most of our oils are certified organic or in the process to be, meaning thorough inspections have been carried out to ensure the traceability of the biomasses, the absence of any contamination and that processing is done in ways to ensure the oils are 100% natural.

Distribution

Jua by Agar is distributed amongst several retailers, spas and distributors in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan and shall soon expand to more countries. At Agar Limited we are wholesalers and sell the oils in bulk: our minimum order quantity is of only 10 bottles to help the smaller distributors and spas, and we shall distribute in bottles also the bigger orders with accompanying info pages for each type of oil.

We currently have 15+ Vendors distributed between Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa, such as Pharmacies  (Garnet and Nuwell) Natural products retailers such as (Healthy U and Elixir Health Shop), Cosmetic ingredient suppliers (Terra Naturals) and beauty shops and many more including in Uganda and South Sudan.

Purchase Plans

Retail

Consignment Based Plans

This gives respectively 1.8x markup = 43% margin buying from a lower MoQ of 10 Bottles upwards mixing as they like.

Our consignment base plan is valid on credit solely in the occasion the distributor has a retail shop which we consider high potential and are confident can turn good sales due to reputation, location and foot traffic.

Note: We can sell the line with buyer’s private labels ONLY for consignments bought in liters.

Direct Purchase Plans

3.3x markup and 70% margin for larger quantities (above one liter/65 bottles per type of oil the significant earning difference being due to the price drop when buying per liter.

For smaller distributors using informal networks we do request payment upfront of the line in both consignment and direct purchase plans.

Bulk Exports

Aside the retail line, which can be exported ready to sell, we ship several resources and commodities in large quantities: our main bulk item is frankincense essential oil, of which we can produce up to 3 tons per year, then Sweet Myrrh – 1 ton, Baobab and Shea can also be exported in large quantities and so can our latest addition: aloe powder.