Ebun Feludu is the founder of Kokari Coconuts & Company, a Nigerian agro-processing business that has rapidly grown into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Specializing in turning coconuts into a diverse range of food and personal care products, her business now boasts two major factories in Lagos—one in Badagry and another in Ajah—serving both local and international markets.
The Spark of a New Venture
In 2016, Ebun Feludu began her coconut business from her kitchen in Lagos. The idea was born out of personal necessity, as she struggled with severe lactose intolerance and couldn’t find a suitable plant-based milk alternative. Inspired by the health benefits of coconut, Feludu started producing coconut milk in her kitchen. At the same time, she was teaching her sons about entrepreneurship by using leftover coconut to bake and sell banana-coconut bread at local fairs and pop-up shops. The bread became a hit, sparking her decision to turn the coconut business into a full-fledged venture.
Feludu, who was then running her media company, Plug Media, realized that her success in selling coconut loaves was a promising opportunity. This, combined with her search for a natural alternative to dairy, led to the creation of JAM The Coconut Food Company in 2016, which was later rebranded as Kokari Coconuts & Company.
Landing Early Clients and Expanding Production
Feludu’s breakthrough came when she secured her first major contracts with Café Neo, a popular Lagos coffee chain, and HealthPlus, a leading Nigerian pharmacy group. Her pitch to Café Neo was straightforward: offering plant-based coconut milk as an alternative to dairy for lactose-intolerant customers. The partnership marked a turning point, catapulting her business to greater visibility.
Her next big step was traveling to Kerala, India, to learn more about large-scale coconut processing. This helped Feludu scale production and achieve the necessary National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) certification, a vital step for her business to grow and expand.
From Kitchen to Factory
As orders grew, so did the demand for production. To meet this demand, Feludu moved out of her kitchen and into larger facilities. Initially, Kokari’s production was still small-scale, with bottling and packaging managed in-house. However, after receiving a large order from HealthPlus for coconut oil, she urgently needed to expand. Despite securing some funding from an investment club she had founded, Igrow Agri Invest, Feludu found it insufficient for the massive expansion needed. This led her to launch a crowdfunding campaign, where supporters received coconut oil as rewards for their contributions. The campaign successfully funded the setup of Kokari’s first factory.
Today, Kokari operates two factories in Lagos State: one in Badagry, capable of producing 100 tonnes per month, and another in Okun Ajah, with a capacity of 35 to 40 tonnes per month.
Serving Businesses and Consumers
Kokari supplies both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets. On the B2B side, Kokari provides coconut products to a variety of industries, including cosmetics companies, which use coconuts in their beauty products. The demand for coconut-based ingredients in personal care and FMCG products is rapidly increasing, making Kokari’s B2B sales a major growth area.
On the consumer side, Kokari products are sold in retail outlets such as Shoprite, Hartleys, and Medplus, as well as in hospitality locations like the Legend Hotel and Jara Beach Resort. Its product line includes coconut milk, coconut flakes, coconut cinnamon balls, and even personal care items like activated coconut charcoal powder for oral hygiene.
International Expansion and Global Markets
While the local demand for Kokari’s products already exceeds its production capacity, Feludu has focused on expanding into international markets. Thanks to a grant from the Nigerian Export Expansion Facility Programme, Kokari was able to fulfill an order to the UK. The company also recently made strides in the US market, having attended a trade show where several stores expressed interest in stocking its products.
Feludu is determined to establish a local presence in the US, believing that American buyers prefer dealing with local suppliers rather than facing delays associated with international shipping. She’s also targeting markets in France, Dubai, and South Africa, with plans to scale Kokari’s global footprint.
Bridging the Coconut Gap in Nigeria
While Lagos State dominates Nigeria’s coconut production, the country still faces a significant shortfall in meeting local demand, leading to reliance on imports from neighboring West African countries. Feludu has sought to address this gap by starting her own coconut plantation and selling coconut seedlings through an e-commerce platform. She is also actively training local farmers to cultivate coconuts, helping to build a more sustainable supply chain within Nigeria.
Human Resources: Building a Strong Team
One of the challenges Feludu faced early on was finding the right talent to scale her business. As the company grew, Kokari established an HR division to focus on employee development, which helped reduce turnover. Feludu has also adopted a policy of “firing quickly” when an employee doesn’t align with the company’s values, believing that letting someone who disrupts company culture stay can be detrimental to the business in the long run.
Today, Kokari employs 48 people and places a strong emphasis on training and internal growth.
Resilience in the Face of Adversity
Feludu’s entrepreneurial journey has not been without obstacles. One of the most challenging periods occurred when the company faced a cash flow crisis due to delayed payments from a major customer, nearly pushing the business into bankruptcy. Feludu admits to moments of despair, but she turned her situation around by focusing on gaining better control over cash flow.
As a response, Kokari launched Kokari Café in Ibadan in 2023, where customers can enjoy coconut-based products like smoothies and parfaits. This move helped the company strengthen its connection to consumers while diversifying its revenue streams. Feludu has future plans to open more cafes, both in Nigeria and internationally, with a unique profit-sharing model for employees, allowing them to co-own a café.
Despite facing challenges like power shortages, rising production costs due to a weakened Nigerian naira, and fluctuating exchange rates, Feludu believes these difficulties have made her business stronger. She likens entrepreneurship to building resilience through adversity: “You build the muscle of handling storms by going through them,” she says.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Kokari?
As Kokari continues to expand its production capacity and reach new markets, Feludu remains focused on the long-term vision of building a sustainable and scalable business. She’s determined to empower local farmers, increase Nigeria’s domestic coconut production, and solidify Kokari’s position as a global leader in coconut-based products.
Her next steps include ramping up international exports, especially to the US and Europe, while growing the local presence through more Kokari cafes. With her resilient mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, Feludu’s vision for the future of Kokari Coconuts & Company seems poised for even greater success.
