By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Chief Executive of Cubana Trading and Investment Company Limited, Obinna Iyiegbu, is a prominent, successful son of Oba, Anambra State, Obinna Iyiegbu, known globally as Obi Cubana. He is an excellent proof of what motivational speakers and life coaches teach that a person should labour in the area of his God-given gift as the key to outstanding achievements. After national youth service, Iyiegbu who is a good social mixer and networker was able to parlay his natural entrepreneurial and marketing skills to start and build a successful real estate business. In the course of time, he has branched out into hospitality, manufacturing and other viable ventures.
At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Iyiegbu read and graduated with a degree in Political Science, but has refrained from getting into the rough and tumble of politics, explaining his aversion to it this way: “I read political science but I don’t do politics. I am a businessman, I am called to do business, I have excelled in business and I can only do business.”
In this interview, he talks about his growing exploits in the beverage sector and the ways he has been able to cope with business challenges as well as his passion for empowering students to explore opportunities in entrepreneurship.
You are known for empowering people, how is your company giving back to society, especially young people?
In terms of CSR, we at Cubana Trading and Investment Group are known to give our best. Recently, I spoke at the University of Nsukka during the 50th anniversary of the institution. I have always been interested in motivating students. That is why we have a prize for the best student. We believe that empowering them educationally is the best weapon to arm any person who wants to succeed in life.
They can actually veer off along the line, you can do anything you want to do like go into fashion, music, a professional barber or anything. But the most important thing is to get the basic education. Someone like me, if I didn’t get the basic education, I may not have been able to manage my success the way I have been able to manage it. We do our best to empower our youths in terms of education mostly. We give you something to build you up for tomorrow. We need people that would take over by the time we are no more.
What inspired the name Odogwu?
The name is known globally. This wasn’t the first name, we toyed with so many others, went to NAFDAC, trademark and then to the quality control. Anyone that is a great person, the name Odogwu is attributed to the person. Prior to Odogwu coming on board, you see big men who drink Odogwu wrap it up with serviette. They hide it because they feel it is a drink meant for the poor. But, we are trying to tell them that we are all human beings. You can actually have access to pride while consuming the bitters. It is not expensive; in fact, it is cheaper than most products in the market.
It has its own benefits; people say it destroys this and that. But you know that anything coming from the stable of Cubana, we are interested in quality and we do the best standard practice in everything we do. What we did was to make sure that the people who consume it don’t have to hide it anymore. You can openly and brazenly take it out, put it in your pocket and say I am drinking bitters. We actually changed the narrative with Odogwu Bitters.
What are the milestones recorded by the company?
We have been able to gather some graduates together to present this product so that people who are educated and well placed can market the product. We have been able to export the product across to places like Canada. I was personally at the launch of Odogwu Bitters in Canada, UK, Germany and Paris. The day we landed in Paris Airport, it was like a carnival. The people snapped up the maximum quantity we could fly with, we got to the Tower to take pictures. You could see the joy that we made them proudly Nigerian. We are trying to export culture and show them that Nigeria is not just about bad things.
What inspired the feminine touch and the name Hush?
The name Odogwu came across as if it is only for men. There are women too who drink it. The product was also marketed and consumed by women. So, we said Hush, this is for women, end of discussion! It has lower alcohol content, just about 6 per cent.
How long did it take to work on the product?
From the first day we launched this particular product, we went back to work in the field for marketing. My partner was in the lab trying to get as many products as possible. You have to look at the demography of the nation – not every part of the country consumes alcohol. That is how we came up with this Malay which is non-alcoholic and we want to take every part of the country. So, that our product range will be all inclusive. Our office is dominated by females and one of our visible ambassadors is a woman.
What challenges did your company face and how did you cope with them?
Of course, we faced many challenges. We have seen the price of diesel rise from where it was to where it is today. There is also the epileptic power supply. Once diesel price rises, it affects us, it affects production and everything but we cannot increase our the price of our product at every point because of competition. So, you find a way to navigate it, while also maintaining the quality of the product. Right now, you cannot predict or forecast anything or say you would use N100,000 to produce XYZ number of bottles because you may spend N300,000. So, you find your way to manage it, to ensure that it does not affect the final cost of production. It takes a toll on us but you have to keep at it. Some day the reward will come.
We had situations where we could load the product to another destination, the drivers would divert it. Stolen goods, bad roads, accidents but the good thing is that we deal with trucks that are insured so that the distributors or our company do not bear any loss. That is taking the products from one point to another, the other ones are manageable.
The instability of the naira due to the economy is a challenge but at every point I try to stabilize it, so that it doesn’t go beyond the reach of the people that created it. As luxurious as the brand appears to be, it is still very pocket friendly. It’s a sustainable product, and sustainable brands.
From day one, the prices of our product have been the same but because of the value we put on the product some people decided to raise the retail prices. The increase did not originate from us.
What role do women play in the company?
I believe in women’s empowerment. I am a very good example of a family man. I put my wife first in everything. As you can see, all our directors came with their wives and if you sit on the board meeting here, you will see that it is dominated by women. So, I believe in women empowerment.
How have you been able to deal with issues around taxation and import?
We comply 100 per cent with taxes. We have chartered accountants here who look at our books. We are like the goldfish, we have no hiding place. We are visible in both the social and mainstream media, we don’t hide. We are open to all the agencies of government to come over. We file our tax returns as at when due. Also, in terms of foreign exchange we try to meet up with demand. Life is not smooth; there are ups and downs but we try to navigate to keep the business alive.
We have a wonderful team that knows the Nigerian market and knows where to go. The most important thing is to know where to place the product in Nigeria as well as most West African countries. We have visibility and we have an amazing team that can withstand any competition. The Nigerian market is too big and we are only looking for a percentage of it. The most important thing is to have your own presence, announce it, hold down your own and make sure that the quality is consistent, the marketing is consistent and the focus is there and the prices competitive.
We started with 241 distributors, and now we have restructured distribution channels to be leaner but more resilient & responsive. Today we have 60 significant Distributors, 55 in Nigeria, 2 in Canada, 1 in Liberia, 1 in Uganda, 1 in Cote d’Ivoire, and still counting. To our numerous final consumers for their loyalty and support, we say thank you. Without you, we would not be where we are today.
Finally, as we look to the future, I assure you that our commitment to excellence remains unwavering. We will continue to innovate, develop new products, and explore new opportunities to grow our business. Together, we will achieve even greater success.