After her husband’s death, Popi Zolas abandoned her
corporate career and took on a restaurant franchise, before immersing herself
in the catering and confectionery business.



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As a cost consultant working in the corporate space, Popi
Zolas never thought she would one day be in the catering and baking business.
But when life deals you rude surprises, you make plans to make the dough to
live it down. 



Her husband’s death in a car accident in 1997 resulted in
her inheriting shares in the then popular Something Fishy restaurant in
Johannesburg that her husband franchised.



After his death, she was thrown in the deep end and had to co-manage his business. 



“I worked there for seven years together with a partner and
we did phenomenally well but our visions were different and we had to buy each
other out; he offered me more than [the amount] I was happy offer him. I exited
the group in 2003,” she says.



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&nbsp;Zolas rested for a
while and went into franchise consulting, and then went on to research global eating
trends in 2004. The same year, 180 Degrees Catering &amp; Confectionery was
born. She named the business after the standard temperature used for baking.



“This baby (180 degrees) is a very difficult baby, but it’s
a very rewarding baby in the sense that people who start off as cleaners, end
up in either the confectionery or catering department,” says Zolas. 



It began as a restaurant in Bryanston, north of
Johannesburg, employing 15 people, but has seen some changes over the years. 



The initial idea was to create home-style, nutritionally
balanced meals for families and corporate employees. Part of the concept was
also to make high-end meals that would be convenient.



“I can’t say I was happy being in retail. In 2008, during
the global recession, my intention was to franchise 180 Degrees but that never
happened because banks stopped financing startups. My lease increased, after
almost five years, to R150 ($11) per square meter. I didn’t want to sign a new
lease because the cost was horrendous. They were upgrading the building, and we
thought we have a substantial following of corporate clients, why not retain
those clients and go to a small factory where it’s R29 ($2) per square meter.” 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi2.png.png" alt="" data-id="40670" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40670" class="wp-image-40670" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi2.png.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi2.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi2.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi2.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption> Popi Zolas&#8217; kitchen. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure></li></ul>



Unfortunately, the following year, Zolas had to retrench
seven staff members but was able to retain the rest. 



“We had retrenched because we had a limited number of
corporate customers and we were going to service that group of customers with
the intention of growth,” she says.&nbsp; 



That proved to be a successful strategy as she now employs
79 people at a factory in Wynberg, 12kms from their former Bryanston address.



When they moved into the factory, the business focused
solely on corporate catering where food was being delivered to corporates; and
business was steadily growing through word-of-mouth.



“If your product is not good, not wholesome, not tasty or without good presentation, you will never succeed, despite the marketing. And word-of-mouth is the most important thing in this industry.”



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Zolas elaborates on her recipe for success. 



“I believe the product should speak for itself, customer
service should be exceptionally important because our product is a very
high-end product. We don’t use preservatives, we don’t use stabilizers and we
don’t use enhancers in our products. We use real cream cheese, real butter, our
product is a real wholesome creation, and we don’t substitute, I’m very
fanatical about detail. We stand out because of that.



&nbsp;“Now we are growing a
very huge private customer base; either they collect or we have it delivered,
and that started almost immediately because they see us delivering to
corporates and would call and enquire for private functions and that is the
spinoff from the corporate work that we do,” Zolas says.



The business reaches the far corners of Gauteng in South
Africa. Zolas supplies to coffee shops, hotels, restaurants and caterers who
are either short-staffed to produce a particular product or if their orders are
too high. 



“I keep mentioning growth because I never expected to be
where we are now when we moved into this factory. I thought when I reached R1
million ($71,645) the business would be wow, and then you reach it and you
think ‘what now’, and then it’s R1.5 million ($107,478) and you watch those
figures every day and you’re excited and you’re thinking, ‘will I get to R2
million ($143,304)’ and then its ‘nah, not R2 million’. Now, the turnover is
R3.5 million ($250,782). When I started in Bryanston, I was making around
R300,000 ($21,495).” 



Innocentia Malandisa, who has been working with the company
for 15 years, is the only person Zolas trusts with quality control in the
catering department. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="927" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi3.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40671" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi3.png.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi3.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi3.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/popi3.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Popi Zolas in her kitchen. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure>



“My child was six months when I started, this year she is
turning 15. I have worked with Popi ever since and I don’t have complaints.
We’ve had hiccups, up and downs, on and offs but we keep on going. I am the
chef here and I’ve been chopping onions ever since [I started], even today and
I’m enjoying it,” Malandisa says. 



Because of the demands of her business, Zolas, 56, does not
enjoy much of a social life, but her customers and staff such as Malandisa have
more than filled in to become good friends. 



There seems to be enough good food and goodwill going around.



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The dos and don&#8217;ts of franchising 



Ulrich Joubert, an independent economist in South Africa, says franchising has its benefits but there are complexities that businesses must consider. 



“If you talk about franchisers, it gives people support and
provides structure to people who are starting in business. We’ve seen in the
past where people lose their jobs and have to do something to stay alive and
survive. And so, many people go into franchise and if they have good support,
then it helps become successful.” 



He avers though that it’s hard work, and you have to be
careful about how you do things to provide quality products customers will come
back for time and again. 



“Quality is of utmost importance and, therefore, skills
development, and often if you want to break into the corporate environment, it
takes a lot of time and effort to get into those environments.”

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This caterer’s recipe for success