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The short answer
Kunu is a grain drink made from millet, sorghum or maize with ginger and spices; a small producer's cost per litre is mostly grain, ginger, sweetener and bottles. Because fresh kunu sours quickly without chilling, the business works best making small batches daily for pre-orders and regular outlets, and branded bottled kunu sold through shops needs NAFDAC registration.
What kunu is and who drinks it
Kunu is a non-alcoholic drink popular across northern Nigeria and increasingly in southern cities. The common types are kunun zaki (sweet, from millet or sorghum with ginger and spices), kunun gyada (with groundnut and rice) and kunun aya (tiger nut milk, sometimes sold under the same name). Buyers include office workers, students, event guests and people who want a local alternative to soft drinks.
How it is made
- Wash and soak the grain, then grind with ginger, cloves, pepper or other spices.
- Mix part of the paste with boiling water to gelatinise, then combine with the raw paste and leave to stand.
- Sieve through a fine cloth to remove chaff.
- Sweeten with sugar, dates or other sweeteners.
- Bottle, seal and chill at once.
Recipes vary by region and family. Test your recipe with buyers before scaling up, and write it down exactly so every batch tastes the same.
Equipment for a small producer
A home-based producer can start with kitchen-scale tools: a large pot, a gas burner, fine sieving cloths, buckets with lids, a funnel and cooler boxes. Grinding is often done at a local mill for a small charge. As volume grows, a dedicated grinder, a larger stainless pot and a chest freezer or fridge become worth the cost, because they cut time and make chilling reliable. Buy food-grade plastics and stainless steel only, and keep this equipment for kunu, not for household cooking.
Worked example: cost per litre
This is an example for a 20-litre batch, with assumed prices except where noted.
| Item | Assumption | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Millet | 3kg at ₦1,200 | ₦3,600 |
| Fresh ginger | 0.3kg at ₦5,600 | ₦1,680 |
| Cloves, pepper, other spices | ₦500 | |
| Sugar or dates | ₦3,000 | |
| Clean water and ice | ₦1,000 | |
| Cooking gas | ₦1,500 | |
| Bottles | 40 × 50cl at ₦120 | ₦4,800 |
| Labels | 40 at ₦30 | ₦1,200 |
| Total for 20 litres | ₦17,280 | |
| Cost per litre | ₦17,280 ÷ 20 | ₦864 |
| Cost per 50cl bottle | ₦17,280 ÷ 40 | ₦432 |
The ginger price is rounded from the NBS national average for fresh ginger of ₦5,581.82 a kilo in April 2026, reported by ThisDay; it was 12.3% higher than a year earlier, and ginger prices vary widely by zone. Sold at ₦700 a bottle, 40 bottles bring ₦28,000 and leave ₦10,720 on the batch. If eight bottles sour before they sell, revenue falls to ₦22,400 and profit to ₦5,120, less than half.
Shelf life and food safety
Fresh kunu without preservatives ferments and sours quickly, especially in heat. Keep it chilled from the moment it is bottled, sell within a short window you have tested yourself, and never top up old stock with new. Practical rules:
- Boil or treat all water used after the cooking stage, and use clean, sterilised bottles.
- Wash hands, cloths and sieves thoroughly; dirty sieving cloths are a common source of spoilage.
- Write the production date on every bottle.
- Keep cooler boxes iced while selling, and do not leave bottles in the sun.
- Discard any batch that smells or tastes off rather than discounting it.
Record every batch made, sold and discarded. After a month you will know your real waste rate and which outlets sell out; our guide to bookkeeping for small businesses shows a simple way to keep these records.
Packaging and presentation
How kunu looks affects what buyers will pay. Clear bottles show the drink's colour and that it has been properly sieved; a cloudy, gritty bottle sells poorly. Use bottles of the same size and shape, a simple printed label with your business name, phone number and production date, and a tamper seal so buyers know the bottle has not been opened. Bulk buyers such as event planners may prefer larger containers, which cut packaging cost per litre.
Do not reuse bottles collected from the street or bought used without cleaning and sterilising them, and never use containers that held chemicals. Buying new bottles in bulk from a packaging supplier usually lowers the unit price and removes the doubt.
Where to sell
- Offices and markets: daily rounds with a cooler box, often to the same buyers.
- Schools and campuses: high volume, price-sensitive.
- Events: weddings, naming ceremonies and parties order in bulk in advance.
- Restaurants and canteens: regular orders on sale-or-return or fixed weekly quantity.
- WhatsApp and social media: daily menus with an order cut-off so you make only what is ordered.
NAFDAC and scaling up
Selling fresh kunu directly is a different matter from supplying branded bottles to supermarkets. For a packaged food product, NAFDAC registration runs through its NAPAMS portal, with document review, a facility inspection and laboratory analysis, as Mondaq's May 2025 guide describes. NAFDAC's packaged water guideline also shows the medical tests it expects of food handlers: sputum, Hepatitis B, Widal, stool and urine. See our guide to NAFDAC registration for a small food product, and compare the planned guide to the zobo drink business and fresh fruit juice.
Where Pryme fits
Office and event customers can pay into a Pryme Business Account, and you can send invoices for event orders.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to make kunu?
In our example a 20-litre batch cost ₦17,280, about ₦864 a litre or ₦432 per 50cl bottle including bottles and labels. Your grain and ginger prices will differ.
How long does kunu last?
Fresh kunu without preservatives sours quickly, especially in heat. Keep it chilled, test your own safe selling window and discard anything that smells off.
Is kunu business profitable?
It can be if you sell out. In our example 40 bottles at ₦700 left ₦10,720; eight unsold bottles cut profit to ₦5,120.
Do I need NAFDAC for kunu?
Branded bottled kunu sold through shops and supermarkets needs NAFDAC registration. Ask NAFDAC which route fits your sales.
Sources
- NBS: Food prices increase in April 2026 (ThisDay, 2 Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Registration of packaged edible oil with NAFDAC in Nigeria (Mondaq / Firmus Advisory, 29 May 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- NAFDAC guidelines for registration of packaged water facility, FSAN-GDL-002-01 (via PolicyVault) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.