In this episode of Build Your Own Business, Hachi sits down with Feranmi Ajetomobi, co-founder of Ni Fries, the Lagos-based food brand famous for its suya burgers.
Feranmi’s story is one of grit, reinvention, and tough lessons. He dropped out of university in 2013 to start a food business with akara burgers, only to face financial collapse and theft. Years later, during the COVID lockdowns, he experimented at home, put suya in a burger, and struck gold. With a mix of creativity and community-driven marketing, Ni Fries has grown into one of Lagos’s most talked-about food brands.
But it hasn’t been easy. From stolen cash and rogue staff, to navigating Lagos logistics and dealing with landlords, Feranmi shares what it really takes to build a food business in Nigeria.
You’ll learn:
How Feranmi went from dropping out of school to building Ni Fries
The mistakes of “over-trading” and how food businesses lose money without knowing it
Why inventory management is life-or-death in food
How a stolen ₦1M nearly ended everything in year one
The birth of the suya burger during COVID lockdowns
How influencers and community growth hacks put Ni Fries on the map
Why partnerships and shared kitchens are key to survival in Lagos
Lessons on staff theft, operations, and protecting your margins
⏱ Timestamps
03:41 – Dropping out of school to start a food business
07:15 – Losing almost ₦1M in stolen cash
11:25 – Discovering “over-trading” and food business math
15:44 – Restarting during COVID lockdown with home experiments
19:02 – The birth of the suya burger
23:28 – Growth hacks: sending burgers to micro-influencers
29:55 – The logistics nightmare of Lagos deliveries
35:12 – Staff betrayal: when your ops manager steals from you
41:09 – Inventory management as the #1 survival skill
46:25 – Partnerships, shared kitchens & reducing risk
52:33 – Advice for young food entrepreneurs
🔗 Links & Resources
Follow Ni Fries on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ni_fries/
Visit Oze: https://bit.ly/ozesp
Download the Oze App: https://oze.app.link/PmjG6GOg2Vb
Oze Business School: https://bit.ly/spobs
👉 If you’re a food entrepreneur or dreaming of starting a restaurant, this episode is packed with unfiltered lessons on money, logistics, and resilience. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more real stories from African entrepreneurs.