KENYA · GUIDE 0010 · EDITION 4.2
Courgette growing - Customers and market demand
The buyer and the buying decision
Caterers, restaurants and vegetable traders. The offer to test is: Grow courgettes sold before they become oversized.
Build the courgette offer around the cook's chosen dish and delivery rhythm, allowing picking decisions to follow that use rather than simply waiting for heavier fruit.
Separate interest from an accepted order
Track harvests from a small plot and ask a cook to assess size and texture.
The purpose of this test is to establish whether the buyer accepts the specified result, delivery arrangement and payment terms. An encouraging interview does not establish repeat demand. Ask what the buyer currently uses, what would make them change supplier and who has authority to approve the first order. Record a refusal as carefully as an enquiry so that unsuccessful offers do not disappear from the evidence.
Collect evidence specific to this offer
Record each picking interval, fruit sizes, kitchen acceptance and alternative sales of oversized fruit, making the cost of a missed visit visible in the pilot.
| Question to resolve | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| What exactly will the buyer accept? | Ask the cook to slice and prepare trial courgettes at different maturity stages, then identify the stage that gives acceptable texture and portion consistency. |
| What is included in the first trial? | Build the courgette offer around the cook's chosen dish and delivery rhythm, allowing picking decisions to follow that use rather than simply waiting for heavier fruit. |
| How will a prospect see the offer? | Ask restaurant buyers which fruit size they portion most efficiently. |
| What must happen before repeating the trial? | The saleable grade should be agreed by size and visible condition, not just gross harvest weight. |
Decide whether to continue
Review the specification with the buyer before committing to tools or stock. A trial is commercially useful only if actual costs, rejected work, time spent and cash collected can be reconciled. Skipping a picking visit can create oversized stock that increases harvested kilograms while reducing the quantity the intended kitchen is willing to purchase that week.
If a buyer changes the required output, record a new scope and re-cost the test. Do not count a request for a different product as proof of demand for the original one. Keep personal contact details in your private records and use customer statements publicly only with permission.