Grace Ubawuchi, a UK-based entrepreneur and former delivery driver, has struck gold with her strongly-spirited sorbet cocktail brand, Xīn and Voltaire, earning her the most promising medium-sized business honor at this year’s KPMG International’s Black Entrepreneurs’ Awards (BEA).
“My philosophy is if you don’t try, you don’t get,” Ubawuchi said. “I came up with the concept for Xīn and Voltaire when I was in Birmingham at university. I worked at Deliveroo but I learned so much about the food and drink industry while I was there.”
It was Ubawuchi’s love for a good cocktail combined with her steadfastness that led to her business capturing the eyes of an investor at a private equity firm, per Birmingham Live.
“I was a very wild child when I was younger and would go out clubbing in London with my cousins. I loved cocktails but wanted to have proper chilled pre-made ones at home, too, but couldn’t find them, so I thought about creating it myself,” she said.
Currently, Xīn and Voltaire sorbet products can be found at UK-based Soho House locations, London’s Mandarin Oriental, popular department store Selfridge’s, and Electric Cinema. Ubawuchi plans to expand distribution to Mexico, Dubai, Switzerland, and Spain, the outlet reports.
“I have first-hand experience of how challenging it can be initially, especially as a solo founder without access to information or a community,” Ubawuchi said. “What’s great about today is that social media and incredible people with access act as the megaphones, sharing key information so that those barriers are broken.”
Source: Black Enterprise
