Felisha Tuiloma was sure she wanted to own a business but didn’t know what it would be and how it would look. Her paternal parents were the first to open a restaurant in the small town of Nausori, in the outskirts of Suva City.
She describes her paternal grandmother Nana Vila as a great cook and baker, she passed this trait to all her sons and daughters.
“We’ve always been brought up on good soul food. No one could make better stew or scone than our Nana Vila,” Mrs Tuiloma said.
“Her late Tongan-born grandmother was very disciplined, strong willed and ruled the roost,” Mrs Tuiloma said.
While working as a full-time employee in corporate marketing and media for more than two decades, Mrs Tuiloma had a small business on the side.
“I started off making my own jewelry and selling at The ROC market. Then later, I started selling shopping bags I designed with local motifs. The bags were manufactured in China,” she said.
The small-business woman is married to Icanus Tuiloma, an IT specialist. They have two children, Gracelyn, 7, and Jerome, 3. Her husband said he had a friend moving back to Fiji who wanted to start a business.
“We encouraged him to give rotisserie chickens a shot,” she said.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him and he approached us a year later to buy the machine, which we decided to invest in before we even thought of opening a restaurant or starting a business.”
“We thought we’d invest in it for family functions and eventually a business venture.”
The Rotisserie
On January 4, 2020 the couple opened The Rotisserie at Laucala Beach.
“At The Rotisserie, we specialise in roasts — mainly chicken, pork – along with other specialised local foods and the catering business,” she said.
Since coming into the hospitality business, she felt that it was the right fit and every day she looks forward to seeing what the day brings.
But just two months later, the first novel coronavirus case (COVID-19) was reported in Fiji on March 1, 2020. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.
This new twist of unexpected events was something the couple never prepared for, especially after investing all of their savings into this new small to medium enterprise.
The Rotisserie employs nine employees; however, they have almost 30 suppliers ranging from packaging to meats, fish, cutlery, groceries, fruits, vegetables, machines and the like. With the constant lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions, The Rotisserie collaborated with a food delivery service provider, CyberFoods.
“With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, it came with lockdowns, curfew restrictions and meant zero events, gatherings and catering.”
“There were shorter business operating hours, no food traffic or walk-ins which meant there was lack of business and we could barely cover bills,” she said.
“We decided to market our business on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Viber and offline as well.”
“Free deliveries was another initiative that really drove sales and filling the gaps in terms of food offerings in the Nasinu to Nausori corridor.”
“Most restaurants had closed during the pandemic and we stayed open. That forced people to see us and try us as we were like the only restaurant option opened at the time.”
The online and offline combination has been working smoothly, which Mrs Tuiloma said has played a big role in boosting business and income.
“Knowing your target audience or customer is so important, taking lots of feedback and developing your meals and continuously perfecting them is such a great exercise for any business.”
“We are so passionate about what we do and it shows.
“We take pride in what we put together and always ensure we give our best.”
“We re-adjusted our menu and offerings about four times in the last two years to ensure it suits the market,” she said.
For the couple, combating the pandemic was to simply keep going, watching costs, creating awareness and not waiting for businesses to come to them.
This year, the couple said it was more about rebuilding and recovering from the losses of the last two and a half years. They know it will take time. In the future, they plan to diversify their business.
“We go after the business, we refuse to sit and wait for it to come to us,” she said.
With orders pouring in from around the country and internationally, the couple advised other small business owners how important it is to take their business online.
“A very important thing to note is being hands-on in the business, being on the ground managing the day to day happenings gives you first-hand experience of what works and what doesn’t. What you could improve on and what needs to change.”
Director of Cyber Foods, Majid Shahzad, said The Rotisserie was a unique business venture.
“We would get orders from local and international customers from New Zealand, Australia, UK, USA and Canada, specifically ordering food from The Rotisserie for their friends and families.”
“Sometimes, one food delivery order filled our food delivery bag. Our collaboration has been beneficial both ways because we learn from each other,” Mr Shahzad said.
Feedback: maraia.vula@fijisun.com.fj