“We don’t even sell up to N10k daily” – Lady devastated as her food business fails despite huge investment
A Nigerian lady has shared her frustration and heartbreak after her dream of running a successful food business with her sister was met with poor sales and wasted food.
In a viral TikTok video, she narrated the struggles she and her sister faced despite investing heavily in the venture.
Invested Heavily in the Business
The lady, identified on TikTok as @babyjewel, explained that she and her sister put in a significant amount of money and effort to get their food business running.
They merged two kiosks into one, carried out extensive renovations, and stocked the business, hoping to attract enough customers to sustain it.
Efforts to Attract Customers Yielded Little
According to @babyjewel, despite planning, speaking to neighbors, and even making friends in the area, customer turnout was far below expectations.
She revealed that even after reducing portion sizes and offering a variety of meals, daily sales rarely exceeded N10,000, leaving much of the food unsold.
Food Wasted Despite Dedication
The lady also recalled that on some days, customers barely bought even basic items like chicken or rice.
In her words: “How do I explain that the business I and my sister started with all the money spent, we don’t sell up to N10k daily and food always waste because no sales. I know you may have many questions, but please understand that we truly tried our best.
Before we started, we asked around, spoke to people in the neighborhood, and even made friends there. It took months before we finally decided to begin.
We put so much into fixing the shop, it was originally two separate kiosks, and we had to join them into one. The carpentry and renovations cost far more than we expected, and by the time we were done, we barely had anything left to buy foodstuffs. But we managed, and got few things on credit and started anyway.
Opening the shop was a dream come true for us. We woke up early, cooked with love, and the food truly tasted amazing.
We played music to keep the place lively, customers came, and people loved what they bought. The video we posted showed the full quantity of food we made that day but honestly, the white rice didn’t sell at all, and even the jollof rice, chicken, and turkey remained. So we reduced the portions, but later, people barely even bought chicken again. Some days we sold only one or two pieces, and even half a derica of rice became difficult to finish.”
Netizens React to the Struggle
The video has drawn reactions from social media users, with many sympathizing with the sisters’ situation.
See below;
@baby_jewel1 I know you may have many questions, but please understand that we truly tried our best. Before we started, we asked around, spoke to people in the neighborhood, and even made friends there. It took months before we finally decided to begin. We put so much into fixing the shop , it was originally two separate kiosks, and we had to join them into one. The carpentry and renovations cost far more than we expected, and by the time we were done, we barely had anything left to buy foodstuffs. But we managed, and got few things on credit and started anyway. Opening the shop was a dream come true for us. We woke up early, cooked with love, and the food truly tasted amazing. We played music to keep the place lively, customers came, and people loved what they bought. The video we posted showed the full quantity of food we made that day but honestly, the white rice didn’t sell at all, and even the jollof rice, chicken, and turkey remained. So we reduced the portions… but later, people barely even bought chicken again. Some days we sold only one or two pieces, and even half a derica of rice became difficult to finish. It reached a point where we were selling just to buy ingredients for the next day, selling 10k and using the same 10k to restock. No profit. And then even 10k became hard. Some days it’s 5k, and most of the food, soups, and swallow get wasted. Many times we just eat it ourselves so it doesn’t go bad. What hurts most is that our food genuinely tastes good. My sister is a trained chef , she went to culinary school and has years of experience cooking professionally before relocating to Lagos to start her own business. Yet council officials kept disturbing us to leave the space too, claiming it was on the road, even though there are kiosks selling clothes, shoes, drinks, and more in that same area. They targeted us because they felt we were making money or because of how neat and organized we kept our place. Now the shop has been closed for weeks, and it has been emotionally draining for both of us. All we want is a better location to start again , somewhere our effort will not be wasted. We are kindly asking for your support in any way you can: – Ordering liters of soups or meals – Giving us catering jobs or event contracts – Sharing, liking, or commenting on our posts – Financial support, gifts, or even job opportunities Anything at all will mean so much to us. 😌 We have responsibilities to take care of, and we are simply trying to rise again. Thank you so much for your kindness and support. 🙏
