UNS — Starting from people’s concern over a large number of fake pure honey products in the market, Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta student created a pure honey brand called “Neebee.” Mochammad Nibraasuddiin Aley Z, Informatics Program student Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science (FMIPA) UNS and the brand’s founder, admitted that he generated tens of millions of Rupiah in his first year.
To uns.ac.id, Nibras, who won a silver medal for Indonesia and UNS in Advanced Innovation Jam (AI-JAM) Japan 2019, shared his experiences in building his honey business. He stated that his business was not established merely for profits but also as a means to facilitate the community in accessing pure honey without worry.
“Honey is mentioned in Al Qur`an Surah An-Nahl 69. Allah promised that the yields of bees are medicines for many illnesses. Sadly, many products in the market to large producers created concern for the community,” he stated.
Nibras said that the Neebee brand was established on 1 October 2020 and developed thanks to his collaboration with an investor he met during umrah. The friendship he built from the worship activities continued when they returned to Indonesia and talked about Nibras’ business idea. The investor helped Nibras with capital and suggested the brand name “Nibi,” which comes from Nibras name and the pronunciation of bee in Indonesian. However, over time, Nibras thought that Neebee was more appropriate for his brand.
“It started from what I said in the car with the investor. I talked about my interest in the honey business because many products are faking honey even to the point that the real product was discriminated,” he stated.
Opening Business
After the chat with his investor, Nibras conducted research on 9 September 2020 with an experienced beekeeper, asking for a reference from many people, and searching for information through the internet. His product was sourced directly from beekeepers with packaging developed by Nibras himself. Although starting the business was not an easy task, Nibras said that he is delighted because for him, it is equal to educating people on the benefits of honey from Al Qur`an to his consumers.
“I am delighted to make a transaction with Allah, in any form. Including educating the community on four products of bees such as propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, and honey as mentioned in Al Qur`an,” he stated.
Nibras also said that the education he provided for his consumers, including the explanation on pure honey, raw honey, and assistance for treatment. Through honey, he could share with many people about the beneficial natural products and provide a solution for their issues. In selling his products, Nibras employed multiple marketing channels, from door to door, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, reseller, and online. He also provides an offline store at his house for consumers who want to come and visit.
Challenges
Early in his business, Nibras was faced with low sales in the three-first months of his business. The sales started to show a positive trend on the fourth month that continued to the end of 2020, with him generating tens of millions of rupiahs. The sales allow Nibras to invest more in business assets and savings. Nibras also stated that he would open programs to introduce his products to the community.
“Alhamdulillah delighted to help with healthier, fresher, and look better,” he said.
Nibras is also preparing a product expansion in collaborating with collagen producers because honey is known as a collagen catalysator that provides faster and more significant results. Humas UNS
Reporter: Y.C.A. Sanjaya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti