A woman, Mrs Onyinye Anujulu, who owns a food processing firm which started from the kitchen has grown it into a large business. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
As Nigerians’appetite for healthy things grows, young entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this to produce foods that are not only low in fat but also those which are fortified with good ingredients.
It was against this background that the Chief Executive, Flinks Food and Beverages, Mrs Onyinye Anujulu, launched natural food and drink products.
She said: ‘’In Flinks we produce natural health and food drinks, such as kunu, ginger drink, soya-pap,gingered-pap, blended with other nutritional contents in powdered form.
“In Flinks, we produce natural products as a good balance of convenient and freshness – no additives, only the real thing.”
Flinks Food and Beverages, is a subsidiary of Favourlink Oil and Gas Limited.
Based in Lagos, Flinks is an organic food firm, which started with a love of natural food and drink and wanting to know as much about it as possible.
She started from her home with N50,000. Her story is an example of how having educational qualifications is not a necessity for becoming a successful businessperson. She said: “It came through inspiration, though it has been a journey from taking an idea, conceptualising it into a value proposition, and then testing it until it has become the business it has become.”
Initially, not knowing anything about the food and drink industry, she got in touch with her trade association and experts in the food industry. She knows all about image. To compete in an overloaded market, she is making efforts to get her products to the right places.
Daily, there is a challenge for Mrs Anujulu, as she has something new to learn or think about. Luckily, she has a supportive family and friends who could see the potential in the business. She is determined to keep a balance of faith, family and business.
She said just as the odds for starting a small business are many, the rewards are also long in coming. What is more, starting one’s company through hard work.
Her advice to new entrepreneurs is that ideas alone don’t matter but execution is the problem.
In 20 years, she sees her business becoming a conglomerate with an international brand. She said: “ I intend to run a non-governmental organisation (NGO) where I will be travelling round the country, educating, empowering and incubating young women and budding entrepreneurs and fulfilling divine purpose of God for me.”