@sweetkiwiyogurt
Admiralty Way, Opposite Stanbic IBTC
Lekki Phase 1
Food Court, BIS Way, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos
The Palms Shopping Mall
Ehime is a seasoned entrepreneur whose quest for ‘True Frozen Yoghurt’ pioneered the brand Sweet Kiwi. She carried out series of researches and travelled around the world to master her craft. She started by doing small events and today Sweet Kiwi frozen yoghurt has strategically become the go-to place for frozen yoghurt in Lagos, Nigeria.
Podcast Key Notes
Can you pleases introduce yourself and tell us about your background –
My name is Ehime. I studied Business Information Technology and International Relations .I am the founder/CEO of Sweet Kiwi which is a brand that makes frozen yoghurt in various flavors and we have 3 locations presently in Nigeria and 1 in USA. I started officially in Nigeria, 2011.
Starting days of the business?
Well I did a lot of research and travelled around places in the world trying to figure out the good, the bad and the ugly regarding the business – what I wanted and what I didn’t want. Well, I wanted to do real good frozen yoghurt that is healthy and not some mix of artificial products. We started with events and people started reaching out, and we grew from there
Describe your typical workday?
It depends on the day. Every day is kind of pretty much different. So, I start my job in the morning – I like to know everything that’s going on, ensure that all my managers are doing what they are suppose to be doing, I look into the core areas that needs desperate attention and I usually have a lot of meetings; making sure we are creating more opportunity to push the brand forward… (Listen to the podcast for more.)
What is your staff strength?
I think right now we are generally up to 40 people.
What steps have you taken to see that your brand grows and remain competitive?
We make sure that our product is the best in the market from the outset; it is always fresh and we have over 200 flavors. We partner with international brands also and we do our branding in-house by an arm of my business.
How has your business evolved over the years?
Sweet kiwi has evolved in terms of branding; from our first logo we have moved on to our fourth logo and branding. We are more mature in experience, we are learning very quickly, we’ve gone through the ups and downs and right now, we are positioning ourselves. We are making better business decisions now and Sweet Kiwi was launched in US this year.
Where do you see your brand in the next 5yrs-10yrs?
The next five years is just going to be about growth; basically trying to achieve our dream of the biggest frozen milk company in the world.
Can you give us the most challenging experiences you have had?
I would say the lack of infrastructure and government policies, (Listen to the podcast for more.)
What is the worst entrepreneurial moment you ever had and how did you recover?
I would recall a story I tell people about a location we got in V.I and the landlord who wanted 8 million for a 3 year lease and I didn’t have that money, so I went to borrow from my uncle. Then a day later, the landlord called back and said that someone else has made an offer for 5yrs and more money. it was heartbreaking for me.
What piece of business advice would you give someone starting up?
You need to know your why; why you are doing the business. Love for my brand and passion got me going even when I got my worst discouragement.
What advice would you give your young self?
I wish I could have done things differently if I knew what I know now. But things I went through, good and bad made me who I am today.
Tell us one thing about you people don’t really know?
People don’t know I am a very good dancer.
Books Recommendation:
Freedom Platform
10,000 Women by Goldman Sachs / Coursera
https://www.coursera.org/launch/10000women
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Key points
- Product market Fit. create products your target market would love
- Make sure location is right.
- Penetrate different markets in different ways with different products and strategies
- Know your why; why you are doing the business
- Your love and passion for your brand will keep you going even when you get your worst discouragement
- Learn more, research, get mature and make right business decisions.
