How So Fresh tapped into an chance in Nigeria’s healthier foodstuff market
Olagoke (still left) and Abimbola Balogun
10 decades ago, Olagoke and Abimbola Balogun began So Fresh new, a healthy foods cafe and retail chain. At the time, the health and fitness and wellness meals business was virtually non-existent in Nigeria. On the other hand, it has considering the fact that picked up steam and is turning into mainstream. These days, So Contemporary has grown to 10 of its have branded stores, evolving from providing fruits and vegetables in the early days to salads, juices and smoothies.
In this job interview, So Fresh new CEO Olagoke reveals the techniques he took to develop the small business as well as the worries encountered together the way.
Tell us about your early occupation. What capabilities did you choose up that served you construct So Fresh new?
I am a trained biochemist. The moment I concluded researching biochemistry, I taught for a 12 months as section of my youth support (all university graduates in Nigeria are required to go as a result of a just one-calendar year Countrywide Youth Company Corps programme).
My to start with job was as a restaurant supervisor for the fast-food stuff business, Mr Bigg’s. From there, I moved on to the Nigerian Bottling Company, the bottlers of Coca-Cola, in product sales and advertising. I did that for a yr and a fifty percent right before becoming a member of Chevron in the oil and gas sector where I worked in functions and output. Completely, I used about 13 years in paid employment.
We began So New in 2010. At very first I combined it with my working day job but in 2016 I still left full-time employment to aim on So Contemporary 100%.
If I have been to do this yet again, I’d almost certainly follow a related route because I learnt so a lot from operating in a structured ecosystem, specifically at Chevron, exactly where I expended the majority of my time. I learnt how to structure and organise persons, procedures, units and reporting traces.
I was at UAC, the father or mother firm of Mr Bigg’s, for 4 months. I never imagined I would individual a restaurant business enterprise but I attained knowledge about stock management, profits, advertising and manufacturing cycles. I also picked up HR abilities simply because I experienced to regulate 15 or 16 individuals in a cafe environment.
I learnt about constant advancement at Chevron that processes and structures inside an organisation are never ever static. It intrigued me that following staying in business enterprise for more than 100 many years, there was just about generally an update or a overview to make the system superior at Chevron.
A So Fresh outlet.
What ended up some of the difficulties you encountered in the early times of So Fresh new?
We struggled to entice the proper kind of workers with the suitable capabilities. Keep in mind, it was a startup and we ended up compact. Of course, we couldn’t pay a large amount. It was also a new idea, so there were not a great deal of individuals with experience in this sector.
The other hurdle was Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit. I went into small business unaware of how much the infrastructure deficit was likely to impact us in phrases of power and logistics. We ended up dependent on electricity to maintain the fruits and veggies they necessary to be refreshing all the time.
The major challenge was industry acceptance. Again in 2010, Nigerians did not consider salad as foods. We have been trying to create a marketplace that did not exist. We experienced to educate people today the relevance of new, nutritious foodstuff and the impression it has on their high quality of life. We joined Instagram and that was pivotal for So Fresh as it granted us entry to our sector. We could create our viewers on the web and teach individuals about what we have been executing. Inevitably, the worldwide excitement about what you consume, where it comes from, and how it is well prepared caught on. Most people commenced chatting about balanced foodstuff and a balanced lifestyle and the marketplace turned receptive.
Once the overall health and wellness pattern caught on, the most important thing we did was to localise the food to Nigeria. Quite a few folks were being offering things like Caesar salad which have been imported and tasted overseas. But we under no circumstances sold Caesar salad. We realised it was about what the Nigerian palate would like. For illustration, 1 of our bestsellers is a pretty spicy hen salad you probably will not discover it any place else in the planet.
The 2nd thing that assisted us was bringing in wholesome grocery solutions such as chia seed, flaxseed and quinoa. In 2013, they have been even now quite new in Nigeria. It attracted the form of customer we needed. Some people located us just by seeking for points like quinoa, granola or flaxseed and all of that. And then they found out the other points we have been accomplishing.
Buyers producing purchases at a So Contemporary store.
What other items did you do to draw in buyers?
Just one was to teach our customers and audience on-line and via social media.
The next was partnerships. We found corporations that could enhance our message, like health brand names and nutritionists. We ended up preaching the information on their platforms they have been preaching their information on ours.
The third point we did was to concentrate on shoppers who attended exhibitions and gatherings. For some of the activities we had to pay back, some of them had been cost-free. Oftentimes we had been not just after product sales instead, we required to get our manufacturer noticed. With time, we had converts and those converts turned into ambassadors. 1 of our greatest market place motorists has been word-of-mouth.
Let’s talk about expansion. What are the complications you confronted opening new branches?
We experienced to guarantee quality and consistency across all our shops. As soon as people today enter a retail store, they have to sense assured they are acquiring the exact products and services. It was difficult at the beginning, but we were being able to fix it with a ton of inside course of action re-engineering.
So Fresh sells salads, juices and smoothies.
The other problem was increasing into new territories. Our initially outlet in Lagos was well recognized and was performing nicely, so we opened a second shop and it was similarly prosperous. However, when we opened in Abuja, the place no a single knew us, we replicated the tactic we took in Lagos but it didn’t work. The lesson was to search at the atmosphere and to research the obtaining styles and behaviour of prospects in new parts.
If you had to start out So Contemporary once more, what would you do in different ways?
When I started out, I was not big on revenue and marketing. I considered if you build it, people will appear. But I observed that can only acquire you so much. I was not knowledgeable and would probably have invested more in income and marketing and advertising.
I ran the company for a few several years in advance of I went to small business faculty, even nevertheless I was an avid reader. I needed to recognize a lot more about what it implies to run a business enterprise. Acquiring the correct enterprise expertise is pretty critical.
I would also just take networking a lot more seriously simply because it’s correct that there’s only so significantly you can go by itself. You will need a very good network of men and women all around you to develop a sustainable business.
Discuss about long run alternatives.
It will be a journey of advancement and enlargement to make contemporary, balanced meals available to more individuals across Nigeria and Africa. We want to supply far more alternatives of fresh new and wholesome foods that folks can appreciate on-the-go.
I see the sector getting to be far more aggressive. Glimpse at what is occurring in the US and the Uk. Conventional rapidly-food items enterprises are building their variations of healthy meal selections or using above corporations at this time performing that. The quick-food landscape will swap to refreshing, healthy choices.
