“From the gatehouse to the gateway” is an expression often used to describe the remarkable story of the incontrovertible ascension of Sweet Sensation Confectionery from humble beginnings to remarkable heights.
In her book, Pots, Pans and Spoons, Kehinde Kamson shares the story of how Sweet Sensation started from a shed and grew into a successful chain of quick service restaurants. The company’s corporate documentary further details the salient points of this remarkable and inspiring journey. Here are 7 lessons both intending and established SME owners can learn from the Sweet Sensation story:
1. Start small, but be ready for growth If you’re doing it right, chances are your small business will not remain a small business forever. Having developed a flair for service, and inspired by her mother’s knack for entrepreneurship, a 23-year-old Kehinde Kamson decided to start a “side hustle” while working as an accountant. Profit was the last thing on her mind when she started Citicate (which grew to become Sweet Sensation), a business focused on making and selling pastries and cakes. She was satisfied with baking at home and using her car as a delivery vehicle. However, when the business began to flourish beyond her expectations, she quit her job and devoted all energies into her passion. Sweet Sensation’s first outlet was in a refurbished gatehouse in Mrs. Kamson’s family home in Ilupeju. Today, a magnificent building on the ever busy Opebi road in Ikeja accommodates the company’s Head Office and an outlet of the eatery as well. From just three outlets about twelve years ago, the brand boasts at the last count some twenty-four outlets within and outside Lagos. From two fledgling departments in the 1990s, the business is today administered with the support of twenty-five major departments. 2. Challenges often cloak opportunities Many times, challenges are simply opportunities. It depends on your perspective. In 1994 when Sweet Sensation commenced operations, the market was dominated by foreign-owned companies, all of whom had an unhidden predilection for non-Nigerian cuisine. While others saw this as a great challenge and were discouraged, Mrs. Kamson was not. Sweet Sensation quickly identified the need for African cuisine and became the first Quick Service Restaurant to present African Cuisine in a QSR format at its Adetokunbo Ademola branch in Victoria Island, Lagos. In reality, customers had begun to tire of the mainly western menu for which Quick Service Restaurants were known; so the addition of African Cuisine to the usual fare shot Sweet Sensation to the very top of the charts and formed the basis for what we have replicated all over Lagos today. The move was extremely well responded to as customers thronged Sweet Sensation outlets to savour the rich African delicacies in addition to the continental dishes on offer. Competitors had no choice but to play catch up by introducing African dishes into their own menus as well. 3. Entrepreneurship requires hard work and sacrifice Waking up at 3 a.m every day to bake pastries and stack them in the car before preparing three children for school and then dropping off the goods at the Citicate shop on the way to work was not a walk in the park for the young entrepreneur. Neither was the decision to quit a solid job with a steady salary in favour of a fledgling business an easy one to make. The temptation to return to paid employment always lurks. The price is often high, but the rewards equally, if not more satisfying. 4. Persistence and vision go hand-in-hand After supplying pastries to shops and the University of Lagos’ butteries for a while, Kehinde Kamson set her eyes on supplying Mr. Biggs. However, the brand had a policy of never outsourcing finished products. It took four years to penetrate this wall, and she became the exception. Although it was a huge breakthrough for Mr. Biggs to accept and sell Citicate’s products, collecting payments on product delivery was a very frustrating experience. It became clear that the solution was to simply stand alone as a brand. Citicate became Sweet Sensation, and there was nowhere to go but up. 5. Passion is the key to staying power in entrepreneurship Many start-up founders will attest to the fact that entrepreneurship, especially in Nigeria, is fraught with discouraging challenges, and nights so dark that only those who are truly passionate about the business they venture into can endure until the morning comes. Sweet Sensation’s reputation for outstanding quality service delivery is the result of passion that birthed perseverance in the face of poor electric power supply and infrastructural inefficiency. Even during the NAFDAC Saga – reputed to be the most challenging experience in the life of the Sweet Sensation brand – it was ultimately passion that lifted the company out of the deluge of misinformation and negative publicity that very nearly drowned it. 6. Innovate, Innovate, Innovate Seeking ways to improve, and come out with new offerings, is a sure way to keep customers hooked. Through innovation and creativity, Sweet Sensation has maintained its appeal over its 19 years of existence. Initially offering the usual snacks like meat pies, eggrolls, hotdogs and donuts, and QSR staples like fried and jollof rice, Sweet Sensation now boasts a wide range of offerings. Many of its meals, such as the Sukiyaki, the Genève Pepper Soup and the Yamboree are unique to the brand and simply cannot be found elsewhere. 7. Place a high premium on your USP A brand’s Unique Selling Point is what makes it stand out from the others. Many companies, from Coca-Cola to Kentucky Fried Chicken, have been known to guard their secret ingredient very closely. Sweet Sensation’s Research and Development department is the custodian of Sweet Sensation recipes. Thanks to the unit, the brand’s essential ingredients remain undisclosed. All vital spices and ingredients are pre-mixed in a special “spicing room” before being delivered to the kitchens. The advantage of this is twofold. First, this method of quality control has the effect of making sure that Sweet Sensation meals cannot be randomly replicated, as not even the cooks themselves know the secret ingredients that give each meal that special taste. Secondly, it ensures that the quality of a meal is not left to the whims of the cooks. The result is that customers get “Sweet Sensation meals” every single time. So if you dream of owning a small or medium enterprise, now is as good a time to start as any. Take these tips to heart, and add your own lessons to the list as you go along. Godspeed!You might also like:
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