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There is no gainsaying that healthy eating is a major determinant of healthy living. With rising number of diseases, Nigerians are now more conscious of what they eat.
Armed with that understanding, Akeju Oluyemisi is making money from giving Nigerians the right kind of food.
She is an advocate of healthy eating and healthy living. A graduate of Business Administration from the University of Lagos, she is the chief executive officer of Fawree Foods and producer of the franchised Tom Brown cereal.
She started Fawree Foods on 16 July, 2015, after leaving her regular 9-5 jobs. Akeju says the drive for healthy eating inspired her to establish the company.
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“I am a health conscious person and I always have loved any diet that would be of optimal benefits to humans. So I decided to embark on creating a type of meal that is healthy and non-restrictive,” she says.
“The business is about healthy living and eradicating malnutrition. We decided to delve into the business to make people enjoy the benefit of preparing simple meals as well as take a balanced diet in one meal,” she explains.
The entrepreneur says she uses multigrain cereal blend, grains and nuts in making her products and ensures a thorough hygienic process.
“We ensure that the meal is okay for babies, pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, adults and people with illness,” she says.
“It can be prepared in different ways for your convenience. It can be in the form of pudding (pap-like), staple (swallow), and can be used to make cakes, cookies, and pancakes. It is a healthy alternative to flour,” she further explains.
Evaluating her business growth, Akeju says since she started four years ago, she has had different challenges and successes, but these have helped to make her business better.
She started the business with N50,000 from her savings and a contribution from her husband. Initially she was producing from home and supplying to customers herself, but now the business is worth much more and runs on a larger scale. She now has employees whom she pays monthly.
Although she is not a certified nutritionist, she engages with other experts and dieticians and is working on becoming certified before the end of the year. She also engages in self and business development activities which include trainings, webinars and workshops within and outside her field.
Akeju says that she is able to remain distinct from other bakers by using only the best ingredients, establishing a friendly relationship with her clients and maintaining a conscious continuous effort of self-development. All of them have proved to work well.
Speaking on her business expansion plans, Akeju says, “I just collaborated with a financial team and we are ready to enlarge the business coast. We intend to also incorporate services of a healthy meal coach.”
She adds that part of her expansion plans is to boost her clientele and network. She is working towards achieving this, having been recently inducted into the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). So far, the entrepreneur has two certificates of entrepreneurship and an award for the unique cereal.
She gets her ingredients locally in large quantities from major markets in and outside Lagos, but she is working on having a personal plantation so as to improve raw material sourcing and reduce cost of production.
Despite her passion for the business, she is sometimes discouraged with what she terms ‘challenges’ which include: poor power supply, high cost of raw materials, bad road network, and inaccessible capital for business expansion.
She believes that getting the approval of regulatory agencies is also a challenges, pointing fingers at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
She urges the government to improve power supply, accessibility to loans and grants, and also ensure a seamless process for business registration.
Combining the roles of a wife, mother and business owner, she says, “It’s not easy juggling the roles of being a mother, wife and an entrepreneur, but you have to do what you have to do to be a success, and every morning, I know that a new day has begun, and there are wars to wage, battles to fight and goals to be met and I prepare for it.”
Advising entrepreneurs, she says, “Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. It blows hot and cold. It takes the grace of God, your passion, zeal and die-hard spirit to succeed.”
Gbemi Faminu
