Let’s Try This Again, Shall We?

I have not been on this blog in years. From looking back at the post history, my last visit was in 2019 *shame emoji* (I can’t even find the emojis on here, so I will express those with asterisks until I’m up to speed *lol*).

Why I’m back.

Apologies to the handful of people who still stumble across this page from time to time. Your girl ran off to start a couple of food businesses and left herself zero time for blogging.

I always did tell myself I’d be back to share all the goodies I’ve learnt over the years. After all, the two businesses I started each bear the subtitle “by Biscuitboneblog” in their titles. So it probably makes sense to be able to explain why to folks, right?

While I’d love to take credit for finally getting around to posting here again, the truth is that I recently got a life coach (can’t recommend this enough, by the way!), and my homework this week is to write a blog post that details anything about my journey this year that I ordinarily wouldn’t choose to publicly share. (That’s not this post though *smile*). So when I sat down to begin said homework, I thought, why keep procrastinating? Just do it.

So here I am.

What I’ve been up to.

I’ve kept myself quite occupied since I last visited these pages.

I launched Toasties – a quick service restaurant (QSR) chain – in 2016 to help shake up breakfast and lunchtime offerings for Lagos’ on-the-go consumers. Today, Toasties offers a variety of toasted fusion sandwiches, salads, fresh juices, coffee and more, across five outlets and counting.

Board is a luxury food experience and food gifting company that is re-imagining the way Lagosians give gifts and experience “enjoyment.” First launched during the 2020 pandemic, Board has since expanded to offer event catering services all over Lagos, with a few events held outside the state.

What to expect.

There’s actually so much I have to share about my journey moving back to Lagos to start my first two companies. From getting a business off the ground in a tough economic environment to growing a brand from nothing, managing teams, scaling, monitoring consistency, navigating funding, imposter syndrome, and everything in between.

When I first started in business, access to information about where and how to begin was pretty non-existent. I didn’t know people in the restaurant industry in Lagos, so most of my knowledge came through trial and error. Expensive trial and error.

Fast forward to today, while there’s been some improvement, access to quality information about how to effectively run and operate a food business in Nigeria is still lacking. Too many people are uninformed about the challenges and correct practices required – the majority of whom end up quitting once things get tough. I myself came close to quitting many times during my journey, and while I was eventually able to grow my businesses on the back of YouTube tutorials and motivational Instagram quotes (which, by the way, do not always directly translate to fit this market), my hope is that the next person shouldn’t have to.

I strongly believe that the more business owners in Nigeria share about what works and what doesn’t, the better our economy will become. None of this “they will copy you if you share o” mentality. Nigeria needs all the help it can get. And I suppose sharing my lessons will be my contribution.

What now?

“So… all this English – what does this mean?” you may ask.

It means I’m here to share!

My specialty is within the food industry over the past 12 years, so any insights I can give to help the next person, I’ll do that. I’ve been able to grow two solid food businesses in Lagos, and I really do believe that I’m just getting started. I have grand plans for what I would like to accomplish while I’m still in this, and I will use this platform to detail some of my experiences.

“Will there be more recipe sharing?”

*squints*

… They say Rome was not built in a day, dears 😉

While I won’t put too much pressure on myself – who knows what may come! And as for how often I will post, the answer is when I have something to share :).

Let’s stay connected.

In the meantime you can follow @biscuitboneblog on Instagram and Twitter (“X”) for updates. Also check out Toasties and Board for more context. Or my personal page, if you simply can’t get enough.

Is there anything you’d like to know specifically about the food industry? Leave a comment or send a message.

PS: If you have any questions regarding Toasties/Board orders, please contact our amazing teams directly *prayer hands* :D.