It started out as two friends experimenting in the kitchen. One had the knack for doing things with his hands and the other was just trying to find something to fill up his schedule since he was relatively free during the week.
They prepared mandazis at first then they decided those were common in most households so they tried something else, Donuts. They thought their donuts tasted pretty good but then that view might have been biased so they tested them with their neighbour who loved the donuts. That was the validation they needed to turn that experiment into a business.
“Once our neighbor loved the donuts to a point of thinking that we had been doing this for awhile we knew it was time. We immediately opened an instagram page that evening and came up with Grub donuts. There was no time to waste. Grub is a term commonly used by high school students to refer to snacks.”
Michael Ndung’u and Wilson Mwaniki started Grub donuts without even the basic tools like a cooking pan and they would use utensils from their own kitchens. When asked about capital, the business partners can’t say for sure how much they started with. They were so excited to start a business they found a way to get whatever they needed without really keeping track of how much they spent.
“We actually started without a strategy. At that moment what mattered to us was making donuts and getting clients. We have learnt so much since then and we are working on so many details that we had overlooked in the first instance.”
It is an online based business therefore they mostly use their online platforms to market their business but the most effective form of marketing for them has been word of mouth. “Our donuts speak for themselves and that is what we wanted from the start so we do not use our personal online pages to market the business or to influence buyers. We want people to buy the donuts because they are good and not because they are our friends.”
If their appearance don’t grab your attention, their taste will
Image Credit – Grub Donuts Instagram
The partners state that what makes them different is that they do not compromise on the quality of their donuts. Their product is their representation and so they ensure their clients have a good image of them by providing a good product as well as good service in terms of delivery.
“For instance, if our delivery guy gets into an accident when delivering an order we make sure to contact the client and inform them on what has happened then we deliver their order later with some complementaries to make it up to them.”
They have also had their fair share of challenges especially having started without a plan. Sometimes demand would outweigh supply. They had to figure a way to satisfy all their clients. Just when they thought they had handled that challenge another one emerged where clients were requesting for additional packaging on top of what they are already providing. They say they are still working on that one.
“What we have realized is that everyday we get a different kind of challenge and this business has been a learning process for us. For anyone out there who has a business idea and is waiting for everything to be perfect before they can start, you are already late! Start and work out some of the details as you go.”
In addition to that, they also advise entrepreneurs that whatever they do they should do it to their level best. It’s a monkey see monkey do world so if someone copies their idea they would not do it the same way so they should not let that discourage them as long as they give it their all. Finally the partners agree that business is not easy. Most of the things are not taught in school so it’s not a solace for people who are tired of their jobs. They urge people to start a business because they are passionate about it and not because they are running away from something.
