Oluwatoyin Onigbanjo: From journalism to food processing
Oluwatoyin Onigbanjo is a journalist, but her enterprise poses a big challenge to men and women of the pen profession.
The thinking of the majority of people is that journalists are only spectators and reporters of events, but Oluwatoyin and a few others are proving this notion to be false.
She is today the founder and head cook of August Secrets, which produces baby foods such as Veggie Beans, Nutty Meal, Fish Powder and Crayfish Powder. She is also exporting these packaged baby foods to Ghana; New York and Atlanta in the United States, and other countries.
Like all entrepreneurs, Oluwatoyin’s story is unique. After having a baby abroad, she returned to Nigeria only to notice that the child was reluctant to eat the available food.
She started sharing her experience with neighbours and church members who offered different pieces of advice. A matron in one of the hospitals suggested two local foods she could give the child, and this worked.
“At the end of the day, I realised that there was a lot of gap,” she tells Start-Up Digest.
“I said to myself, ‘Why not package all of these foods and give them to Nigerian children?’ In the process of doing that, I realised that a lot of mothers also had the same problem. A lot of them wanted foods that were natural and from the African soil. That was a lot of motivation for me,” she explains.
The entrepreneur started this business officially in July 2016 and has had a very good experience. The first raw materials she bought cost her N20, 000. She then spent between N200, 000 and N500, 000 on purchasing the next set of raw materials and setting up the factory. Fewer than two years down the line, this revenue of this firm (in the last 12 months) is about $100,000.
“We are selling in about 24 Nigerian cities and states of the country now. We sell in Ghana; we sell in Atlanta, and we sell in New York. We sell outside Nigeria. It is amazing that we now take our foods to places where we bring in our foods from,” she says.
Oluwatoyin has 24 direct and indirect staff members and 24 distributors across the country.
“We decided to fill in the gap when we realised that about 90 percent of what the Nigerian children ate were imported and were foreign goods. We are producing Nigerian foods, nutritious foods that are attractive and also nourish the Nigerian children across Africa,” she states.
The entrepreneur has always been a good cook and loves children. In fact, before Oluwatoyin set up the food processing factory, she had established a kids’ store.
“The interesting part for me is that I love coking and I love food. This is something I am passionate about, and right from time, I have always run a kids’ store. Even as a journalist, I run a children’s store for children that are malnourished. It is one thing to have a passion and another thing to do the right thing,” she explains.
It was not completely easy for her when she started. She had to wade through the challenge of getting necessary certifications such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC0 approval. Setting up the factory and office were no child’s play.
The entrepreneur believes that there are more grounds to cover. According to her, a lot of produce from farmers are wasting away and need off-takers and people who will market them.
“The link between the farmers and the market is very weak. There are still a lot of issues in logistics. We also have a lot of market gap, and there is a gap in warehousing.
Being a journalist, Oluwatoyin believes in the power of the digital media. Through various platforms made available by technology, she reaches 100,000 mothers at the moment. She is a strong believer in the made-in-Nigeria brands and wants the citizens to appreciate and buy locally made goods.
“We are taking advantage of the digital media and it has really helped us. We are able to reach more people. Without digital media, we can hardly reach Ghana and other places.”
Being a married woman, the entrepreneur appreciates the role played by her family and says a big ‘thank you’ to them.
She says cost of production is high, but her firm has adopted a strategy to cut it.
“It has really been tough. What we try to do is to watch when there is power and we quickly run our production,” she discloses.
Oluwatoyin says moving from journalism to manufacturing was not easy and adds that she needs assistance in terms of technology and machinery.
“We are looking to get support in terms of machines and the technology we need for production,” she tells Start-Up Digest.
She has some pieces of advice for the upcoming entrepreneurs.
“I was not cut out to be an entrepreneur. I would rather be in my house and string stories together as a journalist. But I realised that people needed my services. If you know how to cook, cook it, put it together and give it those who need it. Don’t just stay in your house. If anybody told me that I would be going out to speak in conferences and talk to people about entrepreneurship, I would not believe that,” she advises.
ODINAKA ANUDU