Startup Story
Ama Brenya is the founder and ceo of LADL Patisserie Company Limited in Ghana. She has about 10 years’ experience working in the mining industry as a Chemical Engineer and three years working in the banking sector in supply and logistics management. She officially ventured in to entrepreneurship since 2017, operating a brick and mortar pastry shop and then added a mobile food truck from which she sold pastries along some streets in the business district in Accra. During the pandemic in 2020, it became necessary to rethink her business strategy in order to remain relevant and resilient. During the lockdown, the idea of producing frozen croissants and bread rolls was birthed.
LoA spoke to Ama Brenya about her journey to becoming an entrepreneur, her passion for creating bakery products, and her belief in creating an ecosystem of small businesses supporting each other.
What does your company do?
LADL is a wholesale bakery products manufacturer. Our business model is both B2B and B2C, We produce and supply baked and frozen bakery products ranging from croissants, sausage rolls and a variety of puff pastry pies.
“I got inspired by my love for the aroma and taste of freshly baked pastries to start a bake shop business to satisfy my personal cravings and hopefully those of many others.”
What inspired you to start your company?
During the period I worked in the bank, I mostly had to stop by a nearby shop to purchase pastries on my way to work. There was always a long queue and I sometimes had to leave in order not to be late for work. Over time, it dawned on me that there could be many people like me who wanted their freshly baked pastries daily and it set me thinking of a solution. I got inspired by my love for the aroma and taste of freshly baked pastries to start a bake shop business to satisfy my personal cravings and hopefully those of many others.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Prior to 2020, the only idea I had was to bake pastries daily for sale door to door or at events from a mini food truck or from my small brick and mortar shop at home. During the pandemic, however, the general world circumstances brought out the creativity in me and then I started a trial of frozen bread rolls for my family and friends. It was surprisingly very welcomed by everyone in my home and subsequently my friends heard about it, purchased samples and got very excited to become my first customers. Through that I realized there was no bakery in Ghana making frozen ready-to-bake croissants and other bakery product. So I took up the challenge to be the first local manufacturer and supplier of frozen croissants and pies. Being the first on the market, I needed to market myself very well to get people to embrace my products. Thankfully it was at the same time that the whole world was on lock-down and going digital and taking advantage of the internet to the maximum, so I also used as many digital tools as possible to market my frozen products. As a result, so many small women-owned businesses were excited to incorporate my products as part of their offerings in their own start-up business. For me, it was such a delight to know that being a start-up myself, I was creating something special for other start-ups to use as their raw material, thus creating an ecosystem of small businesses supporting each other.
“So many small women-owned businesses were excited to incorporate my products as part of their offerings in their own start-up business.”
“For me, it was such a delight to know that being a start-up myself, I was creating something special for other start-ups to use as their raw material, thus creating an ecosystem of small businesses supporting each other.”
Tell us a little about your team
We are a team of 7. Myself the founder and ceo; Afua Brenya the co-founder; one production Chef; one baker; one Sales Office; a part time Marketing Officer; and a part time accountant.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial journey took off in 2016 after I enrolled in an MBA in impact entrepreneurship - the E4IMPACT program organized by the Catholic University of Milan in Ghana. Prior to this I had only worked in corporate (engineering, logistics and supplies). After this E4IMPACT program, I registered my business in 2017 and began my journey as an entrepreneur.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
My vision is to grow into a wholesale bakery products manufacturer supplying the whole of Ghana and Africa with quality breads of all types. The idea is to create convenience for every family by making home baking fun and delightful, and most importantly benefitting from economies of scale to make our products very affordable and available on every breakfast table.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The greatest satisfaction has been my ability as a small business to support other small women-led businesses.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
My advice to other women looking to start a business is not to encourage people who seek out to discourage them. Of course seek guidance from mentors and industry players, but know that nobody understands your vision better than yourself. Avoid distractions from people who may know your vision but may have no idea how you intend to get there. As much as possible be ready to get up stronger when you fall and just keep going. There will be a lot of noise, but make sure to block out the noise and never give up. The journey can be lonely and rough, but it only makes you stronger.
Contact or follow LADL
Email: aduamua@gmail.com
Website: http://www.ladlpatisserie.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theladlpatisserie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladl_patisserie
Why LoA loves it…
They always say that if you find a gap in the market, and you have a passion for what is needed to fill that gap, then you have the starting point for a business idea. Ama Brenya did just that, firstly as a consumer looking for freshly baked pastries each day and then struggling to find them easily, and then seeing a gap in the market to create bake-at-home baked goods. She is now taking her passion and seizing the opportunity to fill that market gap with great products that consumers and business owners love. The result is a growing business that is also helping other women entrepreneurs to grow too as part of the eco-system in Ghana. Inspirational! — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa