Ehime Eigbe has built Sweet Kiwi, her frozen yoghurt brand from a catering business in Nigeria, to now being stocked at giant US retail stores like Walmart, Krogers and Whole Foods. The award-winning entrepreneur shares with AMAKA how a health scare and a three-day, rice-only meal at a Nigerian wedding have defined her entrepreneurship journey.

Ehime Eigbe is the CEO and founder of Sweet Kiwi, an award-winning, woman and minority-owned food brand that makes whipped Greek frozen yoghurt, and protein and probiotic granola. Her products are currently stocked in over 1700 stores across the United States. She also has three outlets in Nigeria, where the brand started as a catering business.

Eigbe was recently selected as semi-finalist for the Black Ambition Prize, an initiative created by Pharrell Williams and Virgil Abloh to provide mentorship and funds for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Sweet Kiwi also won the 2020 Black Girl Ventures Washington D.C. Pitch Competition. 

The brand was named one of Nigeria's 100 most innovative companies in 2017 and 2018. A great believer in the power of community, Eigbe hopes upcoming entrepreneurs can learn from the lessons of her entrepreneurship journey.

How did you get into the frozen yoghurt business, and why the name Sweet Kiwi? 

In 2009, while living in Dallas, Texas, I was diagnosed with uterine fibroid. So, I was looking to eat healthier but struggled with the dessert part because I have a sweet tooth. I started thinking of a way to have dessert without breaking my nutritional bank. I did a few tests with Greek yoghurt and thought 'okay, I can substitute the fat in ice cream for Greek yoghurt and find ways to create this low-calorie, low-sugar product.' That's how this journey started.

As for the name of my brand, Sweet Kiwi is a type of Kiwi with a nice sweet and sour taste. That’s what I was trying to create – a sweet product with this tardy sour taste of yoghurt. At the time, I liked Sweet Kiwis, and I thought the name covered what I wanted the product to be about.   

You were living in the US, but the brand started in Nigeria. Why did you start Sweet Kiwi’s business operations in Nigeria? 

I was looking to open a store in Dallas, but my brother was getting married in Nigeria. While we were home for the wedding, we ate rice for three days in a row. This was really hard for me because I was on a low-carb diet and opting for more healthy food options at the time. It was tough eating jollof rice every day. I had this cousin who had never been to Nigeria; when she saw a tray of rice coming out of the kitchen at the bridal shower, she started crying. I realised there was a bigger nutrition issue in Nigeria, and a greater need for healthier foods.

A friend of mine mentioned that they had these monthly markets in Lagos called Le Petite Marché, so I took a space in the market to use as a testing ground. The idea wasn't to sell but to give samples and get feedback. And I remember that day, we were mobbed all around. People were like, “Oh, can I buy this stuff? Why are you giving it away for free?” And this lady came and said, “I'm getting married. Can you do this frozen yoghurt at my wedding”. She hired and paid us on the spot to serve at her wedding. 

People would call on us to cater at birthdays, weddings, and corporate events. During our first three years, we were a catering company. We catered during the Forbes Man of the Year 2012 event and partnered with brands, including Moet & Chandon, Baileys, Pepsi, and almost all the banks in Nigeria. We also got space at the cinema to sell to people daily. 

It is one thing to have a successful brand in Nigeria, however, moving back to the US, and starting from scratch must have been a different experience. Now you are stocked at major US grocers, what has that journey entailed for you?

This part of my journey is an interesting one because I was spending more time in the US for personal reasons. I realised people constantly needed caterers, especially property managers, who were always looking to do resident appreciation events for people and organisations renting their buildings. That's how I started in the US. Our first job was in DC, where we catered for almost 500 people at a commercial building.

Later that day, someone asked me, 'have you ever thought about doing consumer packaged goods for grocery?' I remember I said, 'no, but I'm open to it.' That was when we started creating a product we could put on the shelves. By February 2019, we officially launched in six stores at Union Kitchen Market in the DC area. 

In August 2020, we launched at Whole Foods, which was another wild moment because they are a big grocery chain owned by Amazon, and known for its high standards. For me, it was a validation of the product we had created. 

Be intentional, put yourself out there

Sweet Kiwi has scaled so fast. What are the three main steps and actions you have taken to grow the brand?

First, I pray a lot about my business. At the beginning of the year, I did a vision board of the things I wanted and the stores I wanted to be in, including Walmart and Kroger. The year isn’t over but all these things have already happened.

I didn't even chase after Walmart. It just happened that they were running this open call which I didn't plan to apply for, but was encouraged to, and I did. That's the second important thing; I'm good at putting myself out there. 

When I saw the email saying, 'congratulations, you've been selected to pitch to the next stage,' for a moment, I thought it was a prank. So, I reached out to a few people in my community and said, 'Hey, I have this pitch coming up, and I need help.’ After the process of finding someone to help me create a pitch, we were selected. I tell people community is so important; building a community around yourself and your business is one of the most important things you can ever do. 

I'm also very intentional about competitions and accelerators, because it's part of how you build community, and that's how I meet new people. I found out that every programme I've ever done has led me to something I have now. A lady I met on a programme called Luminary, an accelerator with UBS, encouraged me to apply for Walmart. I did the Black Girls' Venture pitch competition and won the DC competition. The founder of Black Girls Venture introduced me to the person at Walmart. Sometimes it takes one or two communities; they all come together to help me achieve the goals I'm trying to achieve.

What role has social media played in your business? 

LinkedIn is a great platform to showcase what we do. I love LinkedIn because maybe my buyer likes my post, and all his bosses get to see it, so we're spreading the gospel better. But the other platforms are also great. I'm part of the Meta Business Leaders Network. That's been an excellent platform for connecting with other business leaders and lawmakers to speak about some of the challenges and support we need. 

What lessons have you learned along the way and can share with young entrepreneurs looking to build a food brand like yours?

Those customers who take time to come and make a complaint are your rock stars because they care enough to come and tell you. So, it's crucial that you use that opportunity to connect with them and make them superfans. Build a community around your brand and around yourself. You need people behind your vision. You can't go the distance alone.

A business only fails when you give up or run out of money; so try not to give up, and try not to run out of money. We have to learn to tell our stories when it comes to funding. Many people are doing fantastic things but find it challenging to communicate even with friends. There was a time I realised that almost all my really good friends just said, “Oh, she sells yoghurt,” but they didn't know the impact angle of the business. 

When we were about to launch into Walmart this year, the funding we were expecting fell through, and I was stuck. I sent a WhatsApp message to my friends, letting them know I had an opportunity to be in the biggest grocer in the world, the date I had to deliver the product, and the amount I needed. You'll be surprised at how many people showed up for me. The lesson here is we need to ensure that we communicate with our community. You have friends sitting on money they don't know what to do with. But they don't know enough about what you're doing to commit any funds to you. My network lifted me then, and that's how we launched in Walmart.

What are Sweet Kiwi's future expansion plans? 

We plan to continue growing while partnering with grocery chains to get our product into the hands of more people and expand into Canada, Mexico and the UK. Our business in Nigeria is also pivoting to become a full-dairy company. We are becoming a social enterprise that supports local dairy farmers to create value-chain products to increase local dairy production in Nigeria. We realised a lot of the dairy in Nigeria is imported as a powder product where a lot of nutrition is lost. And we want to do more work locally also to help alleviate poverty.