Partner Spotlight: Mayin Water
The full line of Ano-Care products. Cattle Boost is being used to prevent tick disease, boost the animal's immune system, and prevent mastitis. Wound Buster is targeted towards hospitals for use as an antiseptic bio-solution. Fresh Greens is an all-purpose horticulture solution for application during the growing and harvesting stages. Runako is marketed as a skin topical and acne/eczema treatment. Bump-Clear is similarly marketed as a male aftershave product.
Mayin Water has become Zimbabwe's hypochlorous acid champion, thanks to the drive and dedication of Dr. Taurai Imbayarwo. In 2019, after years of living abroad and working in numerous universities, Imbayarwo returned to his home country of Zimbabwe to open a company focused on hypochlorous generation technology--Mayin Water. Mayin Water (which Imbayarwo says means "rain water") started out as a distributor of machines to produce hypochlorous acid on site. However, the public reception for the technology was slow, and Imbayarwo saw a better business opportunity in starting off as a hypochlorous acid bottler.
With this idea, he struck gold. He began marketing bottled hypochlorous under the brand name "Ano-Care". He primarily targeted poultry farmers, who make up a large percentage of the agriculture industry in Zimbabwe. Imbayarwo initially gave away free bottles of hypochlorous to the farmers, encouraging them to wait and see the results before committing to purchase. It didn't take long before famers were hooked, and word spread quickly. Hypochlorous reduced bird mortality rate, improved weight gain, and helped reduce worms, eye diseases, and diarrhoea.
Imbayarwo didn't stop at poultry. Seeing the success his bottled poultry product was having, he moved on to launch products for pig care, cattle care, horticulture, wound treatment, skincare, and water treatment. Though initially there were many roadblocks to overcome in introducing hypochlorous acid to the country, Mayin Water has now become a respected industry leader. The company has prospects on the horizon to work with the Ministry of Veterinary Services and bring hypochlorous throughout the country for the porcine, bovine, poultry, and horticultural industries. Mayin Water has also partnered with Zimbabwe’s Pig Industry Board to increase research on the benefits of hypochlorous acid with the aim of reducing pharmaceutical imports into the country.
The positive results farmers are seeing has been the main driver for Mayin Water's success, with word-of-mouth being the most powerful marketing strategy. "People are happy because with this product, they have been able to stop buying pharmaceuticals, antibiotics and vaccinations," Imbayarwo said. "We have followers who can't live without hypochlorous now - they are using it for everything!"
With his own chicken project, Imbayarwo uses hypochlorous acid and has seen a jump in broiler maturity from 6 to 4 weeks. From a business perspective, this is an all-around win--less money spent on food and antibiotics equals a higher profit.
Of course, this kind of success also attracts competition. But Mayin Water continues to stay one step ahead, making sure their products pass the highest levels of testing and receive the necessary approvals from the government.
As a business, it has taken time to educate people about the product and its broad-spectrum applications," Imbayarwo said. "People are used to things that choke the life out of microbes, that are extremely concentrated with a very strong smell. At first, they don't believe that something that looks like water will work."
Though the process of education has been slow, it has paved the path for Mayin Water to introduce their loyal customer base to the next step up--making their own hypochlorous onsite. "At first, nobody wants to invest their money in an expensive hypochlorous machine," Imbayarwo said. "With the bottled product, you see results in a short period of time. Once people begin to like the product, they are able to consider the cost-benefits. It all comes full circle, but you have to start with small bites."
As both a bottler and a distributor of hypochlorous machines, Mayin Water is perfectly poised to meet their customers where they are, whether they’re ready to buy a machine of their own, rent a machine for a few months, or stick with the bottled products. Imbayarwo plans to use a leasing model for the Hypo 7.5 machines for now, focusing on places like remote hospitals that are already spending hundreds of dollars per month on disinfectants.
Imbayarwo sees great potential for the future of hypochlorous acid in the region. "In southern Africa, where there are primarily agro-based economies, hypochlorous is going to take off. People want to reduce their farming costs, mainly by reducing pharmaceuticals and fertilizers. Hypochlorous can reduce the cost of doing business from farm to fork."
Future plans for Mayin Water include building out the market for water treatment, the health sector, hospitality, and manufacturing industries. According to Imbayarwo, Zimbabwe imports millions of dollars of water treatment chemicals each year, most of which could be replaced by hypochlorous produced in-situ. Imbayarwo sees hypochlorous as an answer to the poor quality of drinking water that plagues many parts of the country. Mayin Water donates bottles of hypochlorous to neighbourhoods where there are problems with water contamination.
And of course, as part of being in a growing industry, the obligation to educate others never stops. Mayin Water is partnering with the Women's University in Africa to conduct research trials on hypochlorous and has introduced hypochlorous to the Medical Control Authority of Zimbabwe. Educating people and building a strong portfolio of sound scientific research takes time, but it is opening the doors for Mayin Water. The company just secured a deal with one of the country's largest distributors, which will begin stocking Ano-Care products in their stores this week. The success of Mayin Water in Zimbabwe is testament to the fact that hypochlorous acid does have the potential to become a mainstream product anywhere there is an industry with a need.
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