38-year-old Sweetkiwi, a Dallas-based food firm started in 2011, is co-founded by Ehime Eigbe. She came up with the multi-million dollar idea for the whipped, frozen Greek yogurt delight while looking for healthful dessert alternatives.
Eigbe, who is originally from Nigeria, tells AMAKA she was diagnosed with uterine fibroid. “So, I was looking to eat healthier but struggled with the dessert part because I have a sweet tooth,” she noted. According to Ehime, this inspired her to start thinking of a creative way to have a good dessert without breaking her “nutritional bank.”
“I did a few tests with Greek yogurt and thought ‘okay, I can substitute the fat in ice cream for Greek yogurt and find ways to create this low-calorie, low-sugar product.’ That’s how this journey started.”
According to CNBC Make It, the startup, which she co-founded with her business partner and husband, is now in over 2,000 retail shops throughout the country, including Whole Foods, Walmart, and Kroger. She also has three locations in Nigeria, where the concept began as a catering company.
Because of the company’s success, she was named a semi-finalist in the Black Ambition Prize, an initiative founded by Pharrell Williams and Virgil Abloh to provide mentorship and funding to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.
She also won the 2020 Black Girl Ventures Pitch Competition in Washington, D.C. Not only that, but her company was recognized one of Nigeria’s top 100 most inventive in 2017 and 2018.
Eigbe recently appeared on Shark Tank to present her company to potential investors. The mother of two first offered the Sharks 5% of her company in exchange for a $250,000 investment. She stated that she intended to use the funds for brand growth and marketing. In her pitch, she also mentioned that the funds may assist Sweetkiwi go past its “breakeven cashflow” and toward profitability.
Kevin O’Leary, a Shark Tank investor, was impressed by Eigbe and her husband and first offered them $250,000 for a 20% ownership in the company, but later withdrew after they tried to persuade additional investors on the show.
However, Robert Herjavec made a $250,000 offer for 20% of Sweetkiwi. Eigbe and Akindele responded with $250,000 for a 7.1% interest plus 5% in advisory shares, according to CNBC Made It.
Sweetkiwi accepted Herjavec’s revised final offer of $250,000 for a 16% stake in the company, including 5% in advisory shares, pushing the company’s valuation above $2.4 million, according to Eigbe.
