Many businesses are adopting winning product strategies to boost their profits by better serving customer needs. Some of these policies focus on offering basic consumer products, such as cleaning products, at affordable prices to compete with more expensive imports. Other strategies focus on providing innovative products. Some of them are very outlandish like skincare products made from snail secretions and organic fertilizers made from earthworm castings (earthworm feces). Some businesses have opted to manufacture products for the first time locally like some varieties of alcoholic drinks that were traditionally imported from abroad. They plan to launch additional products encouraged by the success of their existing product line.
Snails
Thinking outside the box
A number of entrepreneurs, with an unconventional mindset, who dare to think outside the box, have come up with novel product ideas that are completely new on the local market. This includes skincare products made from snail secretions, organic fertilizers made from earthworm castings, and the relatively better known organic fertilizers resulting from treating sludge, the solid material produced by filtering domestic sewage. Elie Ward, founder of the Snailand farm, said: “I am focusing more on the products derived from the snail slime and less on snails as food. We started making skincare products more than a year and half ago. Our existing products include moisturizing cream, hydrating gel cream, facial cleanser, and a skin booster spray. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that such products are made in Lebanon.”
Worms
Innovative substitutes for imported products
The surge in the global prices of chemical fertilizers caused by the war in Ukraine has created an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to launch ventures to produce organic fertilizers. , founder and Managing Director of Dooda Vermiculture Solutions, was one of these entrepreneurs. She produces vermicompost, an organic fertilizer made from earthworm castings. “Farmers were not aware of the importance of vermicompost. We are the only producers of this biofertilizer in Lebanon. We have created a market for it locally and in the region,” she said. This fertilizer is an adequate substitute for imported chemical fertilizers and has many benefits to farmers. According to Ghanem, vermicompost reduces the need for irrigation water by 30 percent, cuts farming cost by 30 percent, boosts crop yield by 50 percent, and lessens pest attacks by 75 percent.
