Udobizness of the Week: Sweet x Pepper NG
Our feature for the week is the online bistro; Sweet x Pepper owned by Leslie Ozoaka.
Leslie started Sweet x Pepper in January 2020 under the name “Munchies” as a food delivery service exclusively for university hostel students and she ended up rebranding due to the growing popularity of her brand on the internet and interest from the general populace. Sweet x Pepper is an online bistro/food delivery service. They prepare and deliver delicious dishes at affordable prices. The service is located in Abuja, Nigeria. In her spare time, Leslie enjoys cooking, shopping and reading.
Due to the growing interest of her business after the initial launch, Leslie admits that meeting the sudden overwhelming demand was extremely capital intensive and that caught her by surprise. Luckily, considering how new the rebranded business is, she does admit to having a much better handle on things. She also mentioned that she has a constant urge to improve her business. Her plans include becoming one of the top food vendors in Abuja within the next two years, and then subsequently opening a physical bistro. To get to that level, quality is key, and she mentioned that she relentlessly puts in the effort to try out and include new recipes to her menu, as well as researching and implementing the best customer service techniques. Currently, Leslie takes this business as a side hustle but plans to grow this into a main in come source as soon as possible. She definitely has the right idea and road map to get there! She does acknowledge (and so do we) the fact that the economic climate and policies in Nigeria do not support business growth nearly as much as it should. Couple that with the overall poor treatment of women in the Nigerian society (especially independent women and business owners), it is evident that behavioral changes and new policies need to be implemented to fix the Nigerian business atmosphere sooner rather than later.
As a service-based company, especially one in the culinary side of things, client interaction is a big deal. At Sweet x Pepper, client feedback is an extremely revered tool for growth. According to Leslie, feedback is a huge factor for business improvement. She also notes that one cannot ignore bad reviews as well as perceived problematic clients as well, as their opinions are valid, even if the portrayals are sometimes harsh. Her advice for handling bad clients is to approach them with full patience and understanding. Always try to keep the dialogue civil. Another side effect of being a part of the culinary industry in Nigeria is the saturated market. Most people would be wary of competition, but Leslie informed us that she chooses not to see other food vendors as just competition. Food service is a necessity and people will always try different dishes. She does highlight though, that it is important to have an edge in order to keep clients returning. She achieves that through the uniqueness of her dishes coupled with affordability and excellent customer interaction. Her advice to other entrepreneurs is to possess three key qualities: patience, consistency and hard work.
When asked about the UdobizNG platform, Leslie acknowledged that businesses need platforms like myudo.biz to give them exposure and help attract potential clients. She further added that the platform is pretty great (yay). She did have some constructive criticism though, in that the website interface could be more organized.
Thanks for the kind words and criticism, Leslie! We will definitely investigate improving the interface to meet your high standards.
You can find Sweet x Pepper on UdobizNG at http://www.myudo.biz/sweetxpepper. Instagram: sweetxpepperng . Twitter: sweetxpepperng .