By Theresa Goodwin
Packed sausage rolls ready for delivery and another packaged special treat (Photos courtesy Treaties by BISO)
A 17-year-old business and marketing student at Antigua State College (ASC) is transforming her love for cooking and baking into what is turning out to be a lucrative business from her family’s home kitchen in Villa.
Abisola Elabanjo is the owner of Treaties by BISO, a small business that was created in February this year when she was participating in a group project for her church.
“My church has a youth council and I was paired with my god-brother to do a group project. I thought to myself, I am not a good singer but I like to cook,” the young business owner said during a sit-down interview with Observer.
After giving it much thought, and inspired by her love for cheesecake, she decided to make a cheesecake crumble, “with the addition of some sprinkles”, she added with a smile.
This was shared with her pastor and family members who, she said, enjoyed the flavourful delight. Her friends and social media users also warmed up to the product after photos of it were shared online.
This led to the birth of Treaties by BISO, with the cheesecake crumble being one of the main items and the bestseller.
The young entrepreneur has since added sloppy joes, patties, meatballs, snow cones and other items to her growing product offerings and, in order to boost her clientele, she hosts a weekend chill to not only market the products, but to provide special incentives to customers.
“It’s called the weekend chill and its starts from 1.30 to 7.30 pm from my home in Villa and people can follow us on Facebook and Instagram to view the menu and pre-order,” she said.
Each special treat from Treaties by BISO is also accompanied by individually wrapped napkins, an additional sweet treat and a ‘wet wipe’ for sanitation purposes.
Elabanjo will be hosting an official launch this Saturday to introduce her entire product line to potential customers.
The teenager extended gratitude to her mother and the rest of the family for supporting her as she pursues this endeavour.