Sachet Water Factory: NAFDAC Pure Water

Sachet water sells itself in the heat — and that is the trap. This is a regulated FOOD factory, the spread is a few naira a bag, and diesel, film, contamination and a live ban risk decide who profits. Meet Sadiq and Ngozi.

• The opportunity is real — and it is not free money · 9 min
• Meet Sadiq and Ngozi — two builds, every number threaded · 7 min

Used/entry floor ₦3–7m; a proper new automatic line ₦8–15m; standard ₦15m+ — not the ₦500k lie. Choose sachet or bottled first, then face the thin-margin, high-volume reality before you spend a naira.

• The real capital floor vs the ₦500k lie · 10 min
• Sachet or bottled? Your first-line choice · 8 min
• Checkpoint 1 — go / no-go on capital and honesty · 5 min

Two mandatory tracks: a facility inspection and a product registration. The flow CAC→FSAN→samples→FR&R→Approval→Number, all via NAPAMS, applied DIRECT. Budget 3–6 months.

• The two tracks and the registration flow · 10 min
• Timeline, fees and applying DIRECT · 8 min
• Checkpoint 2 — go / no-go on the registration plan · 4 min

A 4–5 room production-flow layout with pass/fail finishes, siting bans, and a borehole ≥150 ft at least 30 m from any septic tank.

• The 4–5 room production-flow layout · 9 min
• Finishes, siting bans and the borehole · 8 min

The train in order (carbon before RO), the three non-negotiable barriers (RO, ozone, UV), and the RO brine reject that means the borehole must beat output.

• The train in order, and what each stage does · 10 min
• Consumables, RO brine and the replacement calendar · 8 min
• Checkpoint 3 — go / no-go on the treatment train · 4 min

The FFS machine and the transverse seal (the critical check). Nameplate is not real output (de-rate 20-35%). Film is the biggest daily material cost; a weak-seal bargain is the most expensive machine.

• The FFS machine and real throughput · 9 min
• The film, and the cheap-machine seal trap · 8 min

The NIS 554 limits, daily QC (pH/TDS/turbidity/seal/ozone) and monthly microbio. About 53% of Nigerian sachet samples fail total coliform — the test is the product.

• The NIS 554 limits and why they matter · 9 min
• Daily QC, microbio and the people NAFDAC requires · 8 min
• Checkpoint 4 — go / no-go on safety and QC · 4 min

The diesel genset is PRIMARY power, not backup, because the grid is rationed. The monthly bill runs ₦700k–₦2.55m by run-hours; diesel is 50–70% of running cost. Solar will not run the RO pumps.

• Diesel as primary power and the monthly bill · 10 min
• Solar, cold storage and the run-hours choice · 7 min

The price ladder, the modelled per-bag cost stack (~₦240 → ₦60 gross at the ₦300 gate), and the ₦600/bag chain-conflation trap. Always name the margin base.

• The price ladder — who keeps what · 9 min
• The cost stack and the "₦600/bag" trap · 9 min
• Checkpoint 5 — go / no-go on the Money Map · 4 min

Bags/day to hit each net target; the diesel sensitivity (+30% → net ₦60→₦39; diesel-only → loss); break-even 6–18 months; working capital for the seasonal swing.

• Bags per day to hit your target · 9 min
• The diesel shock, break-even and working capital · 9 min

The distribution chain, cash-and-carry vs the distributor-credit trap, radius economics (~20–50 km), and the only real differentiators: area dominance, reliability, cold and a Greenbook-verifiable number.

• The distribution chain and radius economics · 9 min
• Cash-and-carry vs the distributor-credit trap · 8 min
• Area dominance and pre-orders · 7 min
• Checkpoint 6 — go / no-go on distribution and cash · 4 min

Fake-number presses, machine-import scams, consultant grift, cloning, distributor default and staff theft — and the real NAFDAC seals (Rivers 16; FCT 40+; MZEE).

• Fake numbers, presses and the seals · 9 min
• Import scams, cloning, default and theft · 7 min

The precise ban status (not banned today, but a live direction under EPR polluter-pays), optionality as insurance, and filing the trademark early.

• The precise ban status and the EPR levy · 9 min
• Trademark, ATWAP and staying legal · 6 min

One line to a small water business: a second lane, a bottled/PET line on shared assets, distribution depots, the trademark, EPR compliance. A Week-1/30/90 plan, a consolidated timeline and a self-review rubric.

• The scale ladder and the consolidated timeline · 9 min
• Checkpoint 7 — readiness rubric and self-review · 6 min

Associations and regulators (ATWAP, NAFDAC MSME desk, SON), reciprocal cross-links, and the four things to teach one person forward.

• Associations, cross-links and teach-one-forward · 7 min