Profiles & Interviews
UmaIceCream: Get the scoop on Bulawayo’s delicious ice cream
In the spirit of supporting Bulawayo women in business, we spoke to the young women behind umaIce Cream. These two women, started a business of selling mouth-watering ice cream with unique flavours and vernac names. If you’re in Bulawayo, you can order your ice cream and they’ll deliver it to you in the CBD.
Tell us about the dynamic, ice cream selling duo
We are two young ladies from the City of Kings. Siphathokuhle is passionate about accounts and literally spits numbers and money making schemes in her sleep. Michelle is a poet and loves playing with words, and thrives on leaving marks everywhere, always has quirky ideas when it comes to marketing. We’ve been best friends for 10 years.
How did you start your ice cream business?
We were bored our minds and embarrasingly BROKE during the first Covid19 Lockdown and we came across some nice looking ice cream on Pinterest, then we started researching on what business to do as soon as the lockdown was over and ice cream kept screaming for us.
Why ice cream?
We wanted something that wasn’t overly tapped into and would sell fast. We wanted to be the first of our Kind, because there’s really only bigger brands and we wanted to join in on that.
https://twitter.com/uMaIceCream2020/status/1389098529864495104?s=20
What makes your ice cream special?
Tough one, we’d say something like it’s made with love, but the way we relate
with our customers is really what we thrive on. We love to experiment with food and it’s usually lightbulb moments with most of our flavors like “hey, why don’t we combine this and that, we go on to do that and most times it really comes out great.
Secondly, these are names/ totems, names and things people in Bulawayo and we’ll Zimbabweans can relate to and the joy when they buy something like that is just out of this world.
Who helps you make the ice cream?
We make all our flavorings from scratch, the combinations and sauces.
We love the vernacular ice cream flavors, which one is your fave?
Lozikeyi, we’ve always loved oreos and when we tried the combination of the Oreos, the sauces and ice cream it really gave us chills.
https://twitter.com/uMaIceCream2020/status/1390556653368524801?s=20
https://twitter.com/uMaIceCream2020/status/1340609880252682246?s=20
How many flavours do you have so far?
We have 6 flavors for now all served in 500ml cups
- iBhubesi (a lion, king)
This is for our chocolate fanatics as it drips with dark chocolatey goodness - Lozikeyi (a Queen)
- Umchilo Wamakhosikazi (rainbow)
A burst of fruity flavours, marshmallows and good serving of jellies - iBhubesi (a lion, king)
This is for our chocolate fanatics as it drips with dark chocolatey goodness - uMaMthembo is named after our mother, after much threats😂😂😂
- Lastly we have one that combines the first four flavours a 1litre tub named after our second mother
uMzilankatha
Are any of them alcoholic?
UMadlodlo, it’s infused with Amarula, Caramel and Cinnamon.
How do you come up with the flavors?
We’ve always loved experimenting with food and it’s usually lightbulb moments with all our flavors like “hey let’s try mixing this and that”
https://twitter.com/thanya1428/status/1377380421835485187
How does one buy ice cream from you?
They order on our Whatsapp or any of our social media platforms and we deliver anywhere in the CBD.
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
WhatsApp: 0713780102/0714785468
Do you take health aversions like diabetes and lactose intolerance into consideration?
At the moment we don’t have but we are considering flavors that cater for that. We usually cut down on some ingredients upon our customers’ requests
What are some of the lessons you have learned as an entrepreneurs?
- You rarely ever get time to yourself
- Patience, the money doesn’t come instantly, somethings don’t happen when you want them to
- It has taught us to work on our flaws
- Communication skills, we meet different people everyday and we’ve been forced to learn to understand these people, talk to and serve them better
What are some of the obstacles hindering the growth of your business?
- Transport, we make all our deliveries on foot so it’s usually hard to attend to ALL orders across town.
- Time management, we have to balance school and the business
- Some products are hard to find in Zimbabwe and if they are, they’re usually overpriced
How does the business grow from here?
We are still learning, everyday is really a lesson.
What is the one thing that could boost your business right now?
- Means of transport
- Getting our own space
What are your other talents?
We both like singing
Michelle is a remarkable Poet and speaker with several awards to her name
https://twitter.com/uMaIceCream2020/status/1390556653368524801?s=20