[11.54..NIGERIA] From Medical School to Mainstream Retail with Lola Adeyemi

54Lights

WHAT TO EXPECT...WHEN YOU PUSH PLAY

Kondwani interviews entrepreneur Lola Adeyemi, founder of It's Souper, an Afrofusion gourmet meal company selling flavourful soups, sauces and spices. Hear Lola's inspiring story of leaving medical school in Nigeria to follow her creative passions, moving to Canada, building a career in tech, then creating her food brand to bring authentic African flavours to the mainstream market. Learn how she empowers people to appreciate diverse cultures through delicious food.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Lola felt restricted in medical school and craved outlets for her creativity, leading her to pivot careers.
• Getting an e-commerce course assignment to identify a business gap inspired Lola's food brand idea.
• Lola aims to make African food accessible and appreciated by all, not just relegated to ethnic stores.
• Quality control and ensuring authentic flavours are critical when scaling up production.
• Lola had to overcome fears of pricing her value-added product too low due to self-limiting beliefs.
• Taking smart risks requires getting comfortable with the fear of failure.
• Lola successfully got her African food brand into mainstream stores with coveted shelf space.

BEST MOMENTS

5:26 "I felt like being in medical school wasn't creative enough for me."

16:50 "When Africans don't have the opportunity to tell their stories...then somebody else is going to take ownership of that story."

28:16 "My will to succeed is much greater than my fear of failure."

28:28 "If something doesn't scare you...maybe your dreams are not big enough."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• https://itssouper.com/
• https://54lights.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Kondwani Mwase | Host & Creator

‘The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.’ – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

For most of my life, I have been obsessed with relationships. I have worked, watched and wondered about the complex nature of human interaction. Originally, my interest laid in the narrative…more specifically, I was driven to understand what was happening. Increasingly, my curiosity has been inspired by the underlying motivations behind events…why it happens. It is this curiosity that motivates me.

My professional journey led me to the field of marketing and the exercise of selling in the service of brands. Over the years, I’ve learned that the true currency is working in the service of people. Finding ways to understand how to cultivate meaningful relationships with them….and making them “happy”. I leveraged my skills as a mass marketer to reach a different audience with a different message. As such, The Warehouse Magazine became my passion. I founded the publication to try and build a community for the conscientious. It was my first business, my first foray into media and, in some ways, my first love. And its eventual retirement left me wanting. Leaving me with a feeling of unfinished business.

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