Bunmi Aremo, MD, Precious Cakes and Confectionaries is also a sugar artist. She recently went down memory lane to tell BISI ALABI WILLIAMS her fairy cake tales.

Bunmi was inspired to start a confectionery in 2002 when she needed to bake a birthday cake for her little son on his first birthday celebration. Ordinarily, one would have thought that the Home Economics graduate from the University of Agriculture, Makurdi should be able to bake a cake effortlessly, but this was not the case, as she couldn’t.

She discovered to her consternation that she only knew the theoretical part of the process and not the practical. Her set in the university didn’t have the opportunity to practise what they were taught. So, Bunmi had to seek the help of a friend to teach her how to bake for her little boy.

Little did she know that this cake would be the beginning of many wonderful cakes and cookies she would be baking in her lifetime.

While baking the cake, she picked a very difficult design from the cake book. And instead of discouraging Bunmi, her friend gave a flimsy excuse and took off. By the time she came back three hours later, she found to her astonishment a very beautiful cake and that was the beginning of it all. She has successful baked her first cake!

Bunmi’s friend was impressed by her friend’s ingenuity. ‘I can’t believe you made this cake. It’s so beautiful. You can make a business out of this,’ she said to Bunmi.

This compliment gave birth to Precious Queen’s cake and cookie business. “I used to bake overnight and my husband would supply all the big supermarkets in Abuja. He was very supportive. People loved and appreciated the cakes. They were customised to meet customers’ taste.”

Business was so good; she was making good money and could hardly meet demand. She sold to all the big names in Abuja and its environs. Everyone wanted a bite. Soon, she started having issues with NAFDAC who stopped her from supplying the big names.

“I didn’t have a choice. The only way was for me to secure my NAFDAC registration. This was a major challenge for me because though I had a very good product but I didn’t have the financial muscle,” she reminisces.

This development got her working on her registration. But shortly after, her family moved to Lagos. This helped her to take up the challenge of improving on her products recipes. Interestingly, this was the same period she got into the short bread cookie making business.

People also loved and accepted the cookies. In Lagos, her feasibility study and quality control proved positive. Things were looking up and within three months, she got NAFDAC certification for her Queen’s cakes and cookies. She also got a place in the incubation centre. With good branding and support from friends and family, she plunged into the market fully.

Her brand name is Panalina and is getting stronger. And everywhere she goes, people call her Panalina. She is elated by the fact that many young people are very eager to learn the art of cake baking. This has been a great source of strength.

But what makes Bunmi tick is the fact that her cookies and cakes turn out unique. She loves the compliments she gets everywhere she goes. Her preference for cookie business is largely because there are no cookies that are homemade and which costs as little as N50. “I always feel great when people say to me: ‘Your cookies and cakes are tasty and nice and the packaging is unique. This has opened all kinds of opportunities for me,” she says.

Growing up

This was very challenging and tough for her. She is the fifth child in the family and as a child she loved challenges. Her parents wanted the best for them. Bunmi was very hardworking and diligent and everyone including, friends, neighbours and family members all liked her. During the holidays, she would buy a lot of things to share on her way back home from school. She was everyone’ sweet little darling. She spent hours cleaning the house, surroundings and even sweeping the street. She was and still is a homemaker.

Back then, Bunmi said their landlord used to look forward d to her homecoming although some neighbours accused her of overdoing things but this did not deter her from helping to keep the general surrounding clean, washing the family rugs and that of their neighbours.

She also planted and tended vegetables and flowers in the street. This effort paid off because it got her first job at President Paints. “One day, I was trimming the street flowers in the rain, and the Managing Director saw me cleaning. When he learnt that I was a graduate he asked me to come and see him in his office. He gave me a job in the Accounting department. I spent two years on that job”.

When she got married, the neighbours were happy for her although they were a little sad that their darling girl was leaving them for good.

While working in the accounting department, she enjoyed her job and the team spirit that prevailed in her workplace but her one dream was to develop her life and career. Though she loved paid employment, she knew that she needed to move on to greater challenges. So she resigned her job.

She didn’t actually set out to make cookies; it was something she stumbled on. “Cookies are great fun, especially for children who love its crunchy taste. They come in handy at children carnivals, Christmas parties, Easter picnics and birthday parties. My greatest selling point was my decision to customise my cookies to suit customers.”

Like other Nigerian entrepreneurs, Bunmi has had her fair share of the frustration of doing business in Nigeria. “To have a good cookie business, the piping of the product must be right. Piping is what determines the taste and texture of the cookies. My major challenge in moving the business to the next level to meet demand was three fold.

“First, purchasing a piping machine to pipe the cookies. The task of raising the money for the machine was a huge one but I was able to achieve this by collaborating with a machine importing company.

Another major challenge was that of getting a conventional oven worth over six million Naira. She is presently seeking to enter into lasting partnerships with people who believe in her business.

Then there is the issue of electricity. “PHCN is in the habit of cutting off power supply when the company needs it most. Our peak period is 6pm to 2am and PHCN only supplies power outside this period. Despite the fact that we have two big generators, we still need a 40 KVA, which is about N2.2 million.

“This can be very frustrating especially when you have a good product. This is what is affecting many Nigerian businesses and government is not doing enough to help us. And it is only by growing the economy that Nigerian leaders can sit comfortably among the comity of nations and raise their heads high”.

She urges government to design scholarship that can support and drive start ups and growing businesses to make real impact. It can come in form of securities services and effective teamwork.

“Some of the principles that I have practiced, which have helped me so far is for young business people to aspire to be the best in whatever field. In aspiring to be the best, they should work on their personality. I have maintained a strong financial discipline. They must eliminate waste and bureaucracy. Above all, they must maintain an open and honest system with customers and colleagues”.