In Ethiopia, it is common to buy raw coffee beans from a store and roast them yourself.
Therefore, when roasting coffee beans, it is called mankashakasha.
Today, I would like to talk about "Mankashakasha" and a turbulent episode when importing Mankashakasha to Japan.
table of contents
・What is mankashakasha?
・The plan to import 50 became 1,500.
・○○○○ pieces were destroyed during the manufacturing process in Ethiopia
・ A customs officer with 20 years of service said , "I've never seen such a terrible thing."
・Mankashakasha who survived
・What is mankashakasha?
A mankashakasha is a frying pan used to roast coffee.
An Ethiopian friend told me that "man" means "something" in Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia), and the name "mankashakasha" comes from "something that clatters."
The origin is very text. . .
Ethiopia is good for that lol
There is a projection on the bottom, and the beans fly around in a good way, so if you get the hang of it, you can roast evenly and cleanly.
Originally imported by Ethiopia from China, this is the original appearance.
Mankashakasha, which is currently on sale, is the original specification of Galitebe in Ethiopia.
Weighing only 120g, even children and women can easily roast coffee.
It is no exaggeration to say that every household in Ethiopia has one.
The recommended amount that can be roasted at one time is 50g, and about 3 cups of coffee beans can be roasted.
・The plan to import 50 became 1,500.
When I went to Ethiopia, I took it home with me in my luggage and tried to sell a limited number of 50 pieces through crowdfunding.
At first, I thought, "Even with a limited number of 50, it won't sell out."
However, when crowdfunding was started, it was “sold out” within a few days after its release.
It might be interesting to try to commercialize this! So I decided to improve the pattern part.
At first, I thought I would order 200-300 pieces from Ethiopia.
Then, the Ethiopian agent said, "Whether it's 300 pieces or 1,000 pieces, the total cost is almost the same!"
By the way, Mankashakasha was scheduled to be shipped by air.
Prices for airmail from Ethiopia vary by kg.
For example, if the weight
Up to 100kg kg / $ 7
kg / $ 6.8 for 101-200kg
omission
90 kg / $ 3 for 1 to 1,000 kg
It's a pricing system like
*Prices are examples only.
*Prices are examples only.
So if you try to transport 100kg, it will cost you $ 7,000 .
$3,000 for 1,000kg .
Then there are taxes and import/export costs.
And the manufacturing cost of mankashakasha is also cheaper per 1,000 than 300.
After calculating everything, we came up with a formula that if we added a little to the cost of 300, we could import 1,000.
I felt happy because it was a good deal, so I decided, "I'd rather get 500 more!"
So we decided to import 1,500 units.
This was the beginning of the nightmare. . .
・○○○○ pieces were destroyed during the manufacturing process in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, the work of removing the original pattern and attaching the original Galitebe pattern has begun.
The mounting handle is laser printed with the Galitebe logo.
Each piece of wood is sanded by hand.
The agent informed me that 1,500 pieces will be completed soon!
I said, "I want you to check whether the printing is done properly before shipping, and whether there are any nails or the like."
By this time, I had become accustomed to the country of Ethiopia.
If you don't double-check just in case, problems will always arise from diagonally behind.
A few days later. I was contacted by an agent.
"Yuhei, I confirmed it..."
An agent with a strange tone of voice.
"... 1,000 mankashakasha was no good!"
no no no no no no no no ah
came. diagonally from behind.
I said, "What?!"
Agent: “The craftsman cut corners! It’s not my fault! He did it!”
Well, I was speechless. .
What happened was that the laser printing on the handle part was not done, the screws went through and came out on the back side, and some of the wood was cracked.
It seems that a total of 1,000 pieces were in a state where they could not be handled as products.
Galitebe owns the material and manufacturing costs for the 1,000 discarded units.
Of course, Galitebe will also cover the material and manufacturing costs for the 1,000 pieces that will be remade☆
In addition to that the agent who avoids responsibility. . .
I don't know who to contact.
Only the cost increases. .
I was very disappointed, but I can't do anything here and leave 500 good products in Ethiopia.
We are also waiting for customers who bought it on crowdfunding.
You have to move forward no matter what.
I reluctantly paid the additional cost and insisted, "Please make a good one this time."
The 1,500 mankashakasha that were managed were finally brought to the airline.
・ A customs officer with 20 years of service said , "I've never seen such a terrible thing."
I paid the price to the airline, and the flight that Mankashakasha boarded was decided.
This import will arrive at Narita Airport and will be entrusted to a customs clearance company.
Mr. S, the person in charge of the customs clearance company, informed me that the schedule for the arrival of the goods has been decided.
After this, customs clearance procedures are completed, consumption tax and import tax are paid, and the product is transported from Narita Airport to Galitebe's warehouse in Osaka.
Mr. S is a calm person who always talks in the same tone.
It will also be sent by email.
After the product arrived, I received an email from Mr.
"Thank you for your help. It has arrived but it was damaged and we need to check the situation before customs clearance. We recommend that you take out insurance."
···e?
I had a bad feeling about the content of the mail that was typed indifferently.
Then, Mr. S, who confirmed the situation, sent me an email with a photo attached.
“I was surprised.
is the first time. ”
Yoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
What the hell is this!
The mankashakasha and others were so soaked and worn out that it felt like they had a champagne party in the cargo compartment.
I was at a loss for words. .
From this time on, I began to open my eyes.
Ah, the story has increased again.
You can't help being depressed, and you can't help being angry.
This is what it means to do business with Ethiopia.
I am now doing business with Ethiopia.
How many people in life can enjoy such an experience?
I was chosen
Ah Ethiopia.
・Mankashakasha who survived
Thanks to Mr. S's kindness, I had the worn-out cardboard replaced with a new one.
And finally, Mankashakasha and others came to the warehouse.
In the warehouse, we did inspection work again.
Upon inspection, about 200 mankashakasha were found to be rusty or unusable due to shock during transportation.
In addition, about 300 mankashakasha had protruding screws or wobbly handles, probably due to manufacturing mistakes.
I no longer have the energy to get mad at my agent.
About 1,000 mankashakasha survived.
After ordering 1,500, 1,000 survived.
It was a grueling battle, with 1 in 3 casualties.
However, depending on how you think about it, you can put it in the wind that "1,000 pieces were safe."
In some cases, everything could have gone wrong.
summary
Galitebe's strength is that everything can be considered positively.
In other words, business with Ethiopia cannot be done without thinking positively.
This time, I could feel the Ethiopian wind from the front and diagonally behind me.
To be honest, we probably won't be importing additional mankashakasha.
We will carefully sell the surviving Mankashakasha.
For Galitebe, mankashakasha is a product like youth filled with various memories.
Please take it in your hand and think about Ethiopia.
