Cool, calm and collected, Mr. Wale Adeowo is the brain behind the top of the range finger foods brand, Finger King. The top brand which used to be known as Adedaas Small Chops ranks among those located within Sura Shopping Complex, Simpson Street, Lagos Island. Few days ago, SAHEED OJUBANIRE, was at the cozy office of Mr. Adeowo where he fielded questions relating to his small chops business and his other business interests. He revealed the reason that necessitated the change of name of his brands, the number of guests they can take care of at a single event, and responded satisfactorily to other questions posed to him. It was a very interesting interview session. Enjoy it:
Q: For the purpose of this interview, please introduce yourself…
R: My name is Wale Adeowo. The C.E.O., Finger King, the C.E.O., Meridien Paint, the C.E.O., Adedas Interior.
Q: You have one of the big brands in the finger foods industry, Finger King, what spurred your interest into that line of business?
R: Before I ventured into the business, there were two major players in the industry then. So, I saw the vacuum and with my informal training from my mother’s restaurant I felt that I could fill the gap. I saw what those two major players couldn’t see then and I tapped into it. And by the grace of God we were able to leverage on that and we became a name to reckon with in the industry.
Q: What year exactly did you start off?
R: That was 2003. We started 2003 precisely and the first job we did was impromptu. We were ready; we already have our kitchen, our office but we were still sourcing for clients. But Otunba Dayo Adeneye, D1, he is a very good brother, he was being installed as Otunba Gbobaniyi of Odogbolu then, so he now called for our service. That was the first event we handled and it was a success. And from there, we got about ten other jobs. So, that was how we started.
Q: When you started, you had a different brand name, Adedaas; why the change to Finger King now?
R: Yes, because our vision for the industry has changed. We want to become a global name and we don’t want to be synonymous or identified with a region. When you see ‘Ade’, you know Ade comes from Yoruba language, but we want to cover all the regions in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, so we thought of a name that goes with what we do that you don’t have to explain to people, that is what inspired that name. Being a major player in the industry, we sought for different names which were not approved. So, it was only Finger King that was approved by C.A.C. and the name has been so helpful in the industry because before then, we needed to tell people before they could differentiate between the Adidas that does sports and the Adedaas that does small chops. So, with Finger King, you don’t need to explain to anybody that that is what we do. We are into food industry and we have vision of opening different outlets all over the country. We have vision of giving people our franchise to open outlets in other parts of Lagos and the country at large. So, having that name will make it a lot easier for us and that is the reason we felt we had to rebrand so that we could become a house-hold name that identifies with what we do.
Q: As a professional, how important do you think finger foods are for any good event? Are finger foods necessary when you already have real food served?
R: When you don’t have finger foods at your event, your event is not complete. It gives your event a kind of classic setting because you would agree with me that what people serve, the normal catering people serve at events are the normal rice, Amala, and the rest which we are used to at home. Everybody eats that at home. But finger foods are not what you can just wake up in your house and say you want to prepare. It needs professionals; it is not everybody that can do it. So, when people get to events, a lot of people, the elites, the big men, they don’t like eating the usual foods. They ask for small chops and when you don’t have small chops at your event, they might end up not eating anything at your event. So, that is what finger foods add to events. At least, people can have varieties. Okay, I’m going for this event and I’m not going to have the usual foods but I would take finger foods. So, finger foods make your event complete.
Q: While walking into this place I saw an outlet which is actually an eatery that belongs to Finger King. So, apart from being engaged for events and outdoors, are you also into eateries?
R: Like I said earlier, we are only using that place to test run. Our vision is to have outlets all over Nigeria, all over Lagos. We want to start with Lagos first where people can walk in and book for their small chops and in ten minutes, they get it ready. So, we are test running with the one you saw. We notice that people come in and sit down, take small chops with drinks. So, that has given us an idea of what we can achieve having outlets all over Lagos and eventually, all over Nigeria. So, the one here is just a test run.
Q: What makes Finger King different from others in the industry?
R: Yes, first of all, it’s the taste. We have unique taste. You don’t have to see our name; if the pack or foils are not branded, if you taste the foods you would know this is from Finger King. We have that distinct taste which stands us out. And our service delivery—we are prompt—we have prompt delivery practice. If we say we are going to deliver in 5 minutes, you can rest assured we will deliver in 5 minutes. And if we say it is one hour, you will get it in 1 hour. We work every day, we make delivery to offices, to homes, everyday. When orders come in, we give priorities to orders according to the time of request. So, we are prompt in delivery. And talking about events, we have well trained staff, well dedicated waiters who are there to attend to you at your beck and call. They are well behaved, well trained, well dressed. So, in terms of taste, prompt delivery and service delivery, we are number one. We take our customers as kings, we give them priority, because without customers there can never be us. We give them priority and value for money. And when I say value for money, I mean we don’t cut corners. If you pay for five thousand guests, you’ll get the five thousand guests and extra. We don’t give you less than what you book for. If you have any return, if we come to your event and there is return, we will tell you this is what we reserved. If you want the money, we will refund the money for the return and if you want the return to be served at another event, we would do that for you.
Q: Is there a maximum number of guests that Finger King can cater for at a single event?
R: One of our outlets can handle five thousand guests, maximum. But when we put all our outlets together where each outlet can do maximum of five thousand guests, putting all our four outlets together, we can do maximum of twenty thousand guests at a single event.
Q: As the CEO of Finger King, what is your relationship like with other players in the industry?
R: They are all my friends. I see them as my driving force because without competition, you cannot go anywhere. They are the ones that make you focused and they drive you. If you don’t have competitors you will feel that you are the champion, you are there. But when you see people behind you or people ahead of you, you’ll want to catch up with the people ahead of you and you don’t want the people coming behind to catch up with you. So, they are all my friends, we have very cordial relationship. Aside from the work we are doing that we are trying to say I’m the best in the industry, outside that, we have very good relationship.
Q: Let’s talk about other lines of businesses you are into and how you manage all of them together…
R: After ten years in business, we thought of diversifying after finding our roots in finger foods, so we thought of going into furniture and interior decoration. And we set up Adedaas Interior. And we have also gone into paint manufacturing in collaboration with my Lebanese friend. And in that too, we are doing very fine. And very soon, our bottle water line will come out. What makes me happy is getting people employed. It is not really the money to be made that drives me but getting people off the street and looking at them that these people are feeding their family and themselves through what we are doing. That gives me joy that they don’t have to go to anybody to beg for food. They work and get paid for their services. So, that is my driving force; when I see people looking for job and I say I’m going to employ you and they are okay. So, the number of people I employ, the happier I am. That my vision; create businesses and get people employed.
Q: How easy as it been combining and managing all the businesses together?
R: I competent work force, my wife is very competent and I have managers who are very dedicated. So, I can rely on them. And I am up and doing as well. It is 100 percent monitoring and when they know the employer knows what he is doing, they would sit up and won’t want to mess up. And we don’t compromise on standard and what we want. So, once they know all of that, they too will give you what you want.
Q: Tell us a little about your family…
R: Well, I’m happily married to a lovely woman and we have wonderful kids.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your educational background?
R: Yes, I am a degree holder in Business Administration. And as Associate Member of Nigeria Institute of Management, and I hold a Certificate from Nigeria Institute of Purchasing, Management and Supply. I’m a Chattered Marketer in view and that is all.
Q: Where did you have your first degree?
R: Federal University of Technology, Akure.
Q: Finally, what is your message for the potential clients of Finger King out there?
R: My message is, Finger King is the only place, I repeat, the only place they can get value for money. They will not regret patronizing us. And when they taste our finger foods, they are hooked because that is a taste they cannot get anywhere else. And my philosophy of life is I don’t give people what I cannot eat. I eat small chops almost every day, so I’m sure of the ingredients we use, the oil we use, everything we use are world class standard. So, Finger King is the only place they can get value for their money. They will not regret coming to us or choosing us as their finger foods providers. We always appreciate our customers, we know it is not easy to come by money these days, so we go extra mile to give them satisfaction.
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