Online tutorial to culinary excellence: Chioma Nwabundo’s story
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Akunwata Chioma Nwabundo, a 2018 Mass Communication graduate of the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State initially wanted a nine-to-five job, but that became difficult. She then turned her passion for baking into a successful career since a white-collar job was unavailable.
Starting with a stove and pot in her father’s house, Chioma has risen to become the chief executive officer of GreatStar Cuisine in Onitsha, Anambra State specializing in yummy cakes, for weddings and birthdays. She’s also a specialist in making drinkables including Greek yoghurt, granola, parfait, juice and pastries for all occasions.
How it all began
Chioma had been passionate about baking since childhood. So, after failing to get a white-collar job upon completion of her National Youth Services Corps (NYSC) in 2019, she started a bakery business in her father’s house with a stove and pot. Chioma discovered her passion for baking while in secondary school as a food and nutrition student, where she performed well in all her practical classes and even scored high during WAEC practical in the subject.
“With the little experience I had in my catering classes in school, and after my secondary school during the Christmas period where I would do some baking like cakes, chin-chin and other stuff for my family, I decided to put those to work,” she explained.
Chioma added that she took extra steps to improve her baking skills. She said: “At that time Google was not common, but I would still search online for good recipes, buy books on catering which were more common than searching online. So, when I could not get a job after my NYSC, I decided to follow my passion.
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“I recall coming back home crying to my father that I couldn’t secure a job. He repeated what he had told me before while I was in school that I was talented and gifted and that I should go and develop myself with my skills. With his words, I forgot everything about employment and focused on developing myself,” she added.
Chioma said she did not undergo any special training to become a baker but learned through online tutorials while leveraging her knowledge because she didn’t have the finances to pay for such classes. She said: “Bakers were charging between N80,000 to N100,000 for a month of training, but I could not afford it in 2019 after I finished my NYSC. When I even got someone to learn from, I could not because the distance was too much. She was in Lagos while I was in Anambra. So, I just went straight to search online for foreign bakers for tutorials because I had been baking for a while before 2019, including baking for a school. So, when I started my business, it was more about building on what I already knew, learning more, and making sure I was doing things right. At a point I saw a Nigerian baker online and I was attracted by her job, and decided to pay to learn.”
Going into catering and baking services was not a coincidence for Chioma as she revealed that she came from a family with a rich culinary tradition, with her great grandmother being a renowned chef down to her mother who is a renowned chef in Owerri, ‘lady Nwabundo’s kitchen’. “It’s a lineage thing which started with my great grandmother, grandmother, my mother, brothers down to me. So, all I needed to do was to develop myself like my father had encouraged me to do while in school and I am happy that I am following that path,” she said.
Sourcing for capital
Chioma said sourcing for capital was a big challenge but she got help from her parents and siblings when they saw her zeal for the job after a year. “I started with the money I saved from my NYSC and my mother’s pot and stove. I burnt a lot of my mom’s pot starting up. When my parents saw my zeal and passion, they supported me with a big oven after struggling on my own for more than a year and my brothers also supported me financially,” she said.
Chioma said while starting up, she would wake up very early in the morning and at midnight to bake cupcakes that she would deliver and sell to her customers on the street and in shops. “That was the zeal my parents saw and bought a big oven for me. I made my first wedding cake with a pot and stove. It was my brother’s wedding and it turned out well,” she added.
Breaking into the market
Chioma said she initially faced a lot of rejections trying to penetrate the market. “Some people would take your products and tell you they would market it, but would not. Some would eat it and complain even when it’s okay while some would tell you they had their supplier. Some would hail you and not patronise your products. I recall a supermarket I supplied my products to and when I came back in two days to ask if she had sold or displayed them, the lady said she forgot to bring them out. But I was not deterred, I kept pushing. It took me about two to three years to penetrate the market and it came through the social media space. I was just marketing my products online and little by little, I started receiving orders online,” she said.
Disappointments
Chioma recalled an unforgettable experience that motivated her to develop her baking skills. She said while in secondary school, she had taught her friend the basics of baking. But years later, when she decided to pursue baking as a business, she came across her friend’s impressive job post online and reached out to her for guidance, but her friend refused to share her expertise for free because she had become a trained professional and asked for money instead. “That alone made me stand on my feet. I took it upon myself to learn and improve my baking skills through online tutorials, building on the basic knowledge I already had.”
She also recounted hoping on a friend whom she knew was in a good position to connect her with top-class clients for her business, but her friend didn’t consider it. “I knew a particular event that she would have involved me but she didn’t, even after baking her birthday cake for free. She felt maybe because I was not popular. This taught me a lesson never to look at your friends, or family to patronise you or help you push your market. Just look at strangers because if my friend had put me on the front page of her event, it would have helped me to go far,” she said.
Chioma’s breakthrough eventually came after her big brother’s wedding cake, and when she started producing Greek, Granola yoghurt, drinkable yoghurt and parfait, adding that they are still a major part of her business breakthrough today.
Business challenges
Chioma identified electricity and NAFDAC registration as her major challenges in the business.
Japa
For Chioma, Japa is not on her schedule for now. According to her, she wants to establish her business in Nigeria before thinking of travelling abroad. “Outside the country is not a bed of roses,” she said. Aside her catering and baking services, Chioma runs birthday and engagement surprises. She equally trains beginners in Greek yoghurt, parfait, Granola, cakes and pastries.
