1. Can you please tell us more about your business?
Deliciously Simple, the umbrella company of Enzo’s Mighty Bites was inspired by a desire to create healthier snacks, snack mixes, and snack options for children, teens, young adults, adults, and those with special dietary requirements. Our goal is to develop a snack brand that is family-friendly and inclusive of a wide variety of dietary needs. We aim to keep our snacks and snack mixes as simple and whole-food ingredient-based as possible; limiting added refined sugars, preservatives, and additives.
2. When, how and why did you start your business?
Our business began in October 2022 as a small home-based side hobby. Helen, with a background as a fitness trainer and nutritionist, was inspired to develop healthier snack options for her son, Enzo, the namesake of our original snack mix, as he entered toddlerhood. What started as a snack mix for personal enjoyment gradually turned into orders from friends and community members. This led to the creation of a packaged and labelled dry-mix, and the rest is history.
In June 2023, Sim, Enzo’s godmother and a snacker herself, joined the team as Operations Manager and Co-Director of the Deliciously Simple Snack Company. She has worked in youth development for 17 years and run her own small business, Ruth and Naomi Co, for the past 7 years. As an avid entrepreneur, she saw the potential of Enzo’s mighty bites and believed that they would make a difference in people’s lives.
Our mission has always been to make healthy, nutritious snacking fun and uncomplicated. We recognize that not everyone has the time to make healthy snacks from scratch with numerous expensive ingredients. Our goal is to offer options that require minimal ingredients and time to prepare while keeping the ingredients as simple and wholesome as possible.
3. What is your role in the business?
We are co-directors and share the business operations. Helen enjoys developing and crafting recipes and product ideas; as well as designing packaging. Sim takes care of social media, customer engagement, admin, and daily running operations.
4. Where did you study and what did you study?
Helen has a degree in Sports Administration and Management, as well as Diplomas in both Nutrition and Personal Training. Sim has a certificate in entrepreneurship and has worked in youth development for 17 years. Whilst both of us believe education is vital, full-time university wasn’t financially viable for either of us. So we have done courses to strengthen our resumes and make us stronger entrepreneurs. Currently, Sim is enrolled in The Start-Up School run by Investec.
5. How did you finance your business?
We financed through personal savings, family and friend loans. This has worked for us because we have a great community and support system. Since we are from a small town and have grown up here, we have the privilege of having people who have been supportive of our business and want to help us succeed. We have also been so grateful to have been one of the winners of the Woolworths Youth Makers competition and received a grant for our business that has helped us to make big strides in our small business.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
I don’t think an average workday exists in a startup. Every day truly is different and since this isn’t a full-time gig yet we work around our lives. Our average workday is a little different for each of us. Helen is a foundation phase PE teacher and sports coach for a primary school; so any business-related work takes place outside of the usual 7 am-3 pm. She is also a mom to a busy 4-year-old, so things can get a little chaotic when it comes to business tasks; but this is what business partners are for.
Sim already runs her own small sewing business, is currently enrolled in a business program, and is involved as a leader at her church, so she tends to fit her business day in earlier on before other commitments later in the afternoon. Business conversations and meetings happen mostly via video call and WhatsApp and then on weekends, we pack smaller orders individually and larger orders together.
7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?
For both of us it’s less about balancing the two and rather pouring grace over our lives for the times we let things slip. Striving for balance is great but sometimes impractical. For Helen, as a mom, routine is important, and working around both her and Enzo’s schedules helps to balance business. Being business partners also means that when one has more room in their schedule they can take on more of the business tasks. Making time to rest and connect is also important for us. Having good support systems also helps.
8. What drives you and inspires you?
To create something that we’re proud of. As his mom and god mom, I think both of us want Enzo to grow up knowing that if you have an idea, you can bring it to life through perseverance and hard work and that dreams are truly possible. Making healthier snacking alternatives affordable and accessible is another thing that inspires and drives us to create a small business like this.
9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
Different for each of us. For Sim, it’s usually at like 1 or 3 am 🙂 For Helen, it could be when she is making food for her son or when she sees something she likes but wants a healthier alternative. We are best friends as well as business partners so some days we just talk and then inspiration will strike.
10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?
We mostly focus on using social media and word of mouth to market our business and it has been successful for us. We have a website and Instagram and are working on building our Facebook community. We have been privileged to participate in the Woolworths Youth Makers market days in Cape Town, Joburg, and Durban, which has given us face time with potential customers. We have also been featured on both the Woolworths website and Instagram and that has given us some traction in sales leads.
11. What is next for your business?
We have a mountain of ideas we would love to see come to life. We want to grow our snack range, but also roll out some fun merch. We would love to see Deliciously Simple on shelves in well-known stores, carrying out our vision of being able to offer a range of snacks and snack mixes that are made from simple, wholesome ingredients; and can be enjoyed by any. We also hope to educate people on healthier snacking choices and help our community by giving back.
12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?
Honestly, it’s the same advice others will give you just start. You will never have everything perfectly in place and even if you do very few things will be in your control in terms of the market and reception etc. Create a business around something you love and are passionate about and that is also a solution to something. Educate your friends and family about it and have them help you market it. Don’t look at failing as an end but rather a recalculation. Trust yourself, trust God, and take a leap, you can do it.
To learn more about Helen-Jean Stubbs and Sim Cele, Woolworths Youth Makers, click here.
