Nicki’s story on… shaking up stale categories with the future of fun, flavour & innovation

Nicki discovered her passion for food in her grandmother's kitchen in Zimbabwe. Cooking, baking, and experimenting with food were the threads running through her childhood. Yet everyone saw her as the opera singer. She knew differently. Food was her future, not the stage and to many people's surprise, she took the unexpected path: food science, nutrition and dietetics followed by a postgraduate in education. It was, however, her part-time work as a student where she got her real education in food, working for a catering company that handled prestigious government events. 

Nicki's first job was teaching Home Economics while starting and running a catering business with the girls at the school.  Then motherhood brought a new chapter with 'At the Kitchen Table’, her own cooking school that launched her network in the food industry. Among those connections were key players at Woolworths and when word of her work spread, she was met with an offer she couldn't refuse: a role driving their Health and Wellness divisions with launching Organic food, kids' and diet ranges.  Unbeknown to her at the time it became a sixteen year masterclass in food innovation that profoundly shaped her career.

“I absolutely love food retail - product development, innovation, all of it. What's magical about food product development is going from an idea, to figuring out how to make it commercially viable, and then creating something customers genuinely love. I was in a business that let me dream and supported me in making it actually happen. It was a period of rapid growth and their appetite for innovation was limitless. I had the time of my life!”

Nicki was later approached by Pick ‘n Pay to launch their convenience meals ranges, she then went on to Head up Product Development and Quality. Years later, as the business shifted focus from innovation to stabilization, the time was ripe for Nicki to pursue a personal dream: launching her very own food brand. Having spent years in the business of food innovation, she had developed a clear vision for what she saw was lacking: an opportunity for a product range that could exist across categories, with a modern, fun element that was all about innovation and flavour. Think Flavour was born.

With flagship products Pimp My Braai and Pimp My Mayo, Nicki has brought to life solutions that meet real customer pain points: not knowing what to make for dinner, with limited time and ingredients, and the need to reduce food waste. She has solidified what it means to innovate traditional products that can be stored easily with a great shelf life and with a quick and easy application to elevate the flavour experience of any meal.  

"I always start with the banker categories - the ones customers buy repeatedly and depend on. Then I ask: how can I elevate these into products that solve real problems? Products that are flavour-driven, and exciting enough to drive sales not just in the core category, but across adjacent categories too."

True to her area of expertise, as she continues innovating, her focus remains on categories that haven't seen fresh ideas in years. Her next product, a gummy range, boldly entered familiar territory with an unexpected twist: cocktail flavours that brought adult fun to the sweet category in a way no one had attempted before. 

Nicki's experience spanning the entire food retail business gives her rare insight into the market and its customers. While niche health categories have seen some movement, the rest of the food aisle faces stagnation when it comes to true innovation. Nicki is pragmatic about the realities; innovation is expensive and building a brand takes time. But she also knows it's the only way to truly grow the business and she is uniquely positioned to shake things up. 

Having brought many food brands to life, Nicki is a true visionary, painstakingly determined, hardworking, and courageous, with unshakeable self-conviction and an endless belief in the Think Flavour business. Fuelled by her husband's unwavering encouragement to take the entrepreneurial leap, and with her son and daughter as her biggest cheerleaders, this is a business built by a founder with an unbreakable support system. While she transitions from building a brand in a corporate setup to that of a self-funded founder, the relationships Nicki has built throughout her career have become invaluable.  From her gummy supplier to her package designer, her network has become one of her greatest assets.  

“Sometimes I think, how lucky am I that I get to do this. People ask what I do and I say 'I have a food brand,' and every time I say it, I almost have to pause - did I really just say that? I actually have a food brand. It's real, it's selling, it's working. It's amazing."

For Nicki, her sense of wonder fuels everything - from kitchen experiments to bold business moves. It drives her to push boundaries, innovate fearlessly, and infuse creativity and flavour into every idea. Her work is a powerful reminder that food should be fun and entrepreneurship should be daring.

www.dna.co.za

“The business of connecting”.