‘I saw opportunity in food business, grabbed it with both hands’

Victor Kalu is the chief executive officer of Kalu Chef Special, a start-up that specialises in indoor and outdoor catering services in Anambra and its environs.
Victor started his catering business immediately after his tertiary education at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University three years ago. Kalu was inspired to establish his business because he wanted to be independent.
The 25-year-old entrepreneur told Start-Up Digest that his decision to venture into food business was one of the easiest ones he has ever made because the enterprise is lucrative.
Victor said there is a big opportunity in the industry, given Nigeria’s huge population, adding that he also has a passion for cooking.
“For me, cooking is like an art. A good meal that is not attractively presented will not serve its purpose completely, and it will only quench hunger but not the feeling of wanting more,” he said.
“I went into the business as I saw it as similar to what I studied in school: Architecture. So I decided to bring down the culinary architecture, food architecture. What I do basically is not the cooking but the designing after cooking, which includes how it is presented and how attractive it is. So even if a customer doesn’t feel hungry, he will not be able to resist the meal,” he stated.

“I got a job in a hotel and I saw how people were spending money on good food. I found that they could spend their whole salary on one table and I picked up an interest and decided to link it and discovered I could make money from food,” he added.
Kalu said he started his business with N30,000 in 2014, an amount he said he spent on registration, obtaining a business card and establishing a website for the business.
The Architecture-turned-entrepreneur said that Kalu Chef Special now operates other businesses within the food chain sector of the country. “I now run a food blog, food networking, with a Facebook page where I train people on food designs and food history,” the young entrepreneur said.

The young entrepreneur has four full-time employees working with him. According to him, he trains each of his staff on food marketing to enable them source for more customers.
Victor stated he is desirous of achieving his personal targets.
“My inability to meet up with my target is a big challenge. I work under a policy or structures I place for myself. Sometimes if I can achieve close it, I will be fulfilled and encouraged,” he explained.
The caterer said that one of his business expansion plans is to have a Shawarma gallery and kitchen outlets in major cities across the country.
When asked what his advice to other entrepreneurs is, Kalu said he would admonish them to start their business based on what they have passion for.

“Creativity can be learnt. That thing you have passion for, do it. If writing or whatever you are into is your passion, create and do what nobody has done, get your own ideas or people’s idea and then rebrand them,” he said.

 
Angel James