Lize Fouche
- Entrepreneur: Lize Fouche
- Company: Number 1 Foods
- Family: Husband and two children
Lize Fouche didn’t consider her muesli a viable entrepreneurial idea until her baby girl was born and she needed to bring in extra income.
As her daughter grew, it became harder to care for her and watch over muesli roasting in the oven: “As orders grew we took our last few thousand rand and tried to build a steel roasting drum.”
“We inadvertently created a muesli pop that would later become a popular product in our range. With a few tries we then mastered roasting muesli in the bigger roaster.” Fouche’s Nutri-start product is now available in Pick n Pays around the country.
“We found the buyer really supportive of our business, not like the horror stories you hear of large retailers steam-rolling small businesses.”
“As a mother entering the business world, I had to really persevere when it came to pitching my product to various businesses. It took time convincing my family that this was the right thing to do. With a six-month-old and two-year-old, I had to juggle motherhood and business, sometimes taking my children with me to business meetings because I didn’t have a babysitter.”