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By Naomi Marshall
Desserts are known to make life more enjoyable, boosting the moods of persons who often indulge in the sweet or savory treat guiltily.
However, the sense of guilt is not necessary if the dessert is low in refined carbs, trans-fats and added sugars. One such treat is frozen yoghurt, and in Linden Guyana, Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights has been producing delicious frozen yoghurts for over two years.
Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights offers eight different flavours of enjoyable frozen yoghurt of which four consist of chunks of various fresh fruits, while the remaining four include chunks of sweet snacks.
Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights come in a 5.5-once-container and in the flavours Chocolate, Pina Colada, Strawberry-Banana, Mixed Fruit, Rum Raisin, Apple-Cinnamon, Peanut Butter, and Micky Marsh.
Behind the brand, Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights is Regina London, an ex-nursery school teacher from the United States of America who resigned from her job to live in Guyana with her parents and subsequently became a successful entrepreneur.
Prior to migrating to Guyana in October 2019, London would visit her family in the summer and her favourite thing to do was getting creative in the kitchen, trying out new recipes.
While playing around in the kitchen three years ago, London made her first frozen yoghurt from scratch, combining ingredients that she thought would give the treat she was making, the taste and texture she had in mind.
“The first time was about three years ago and honestly it was by trial and error. I just kept mixing things together to get the flavours I would like. I did not follow any recipe, I just like to cook and be creative in the kitchen so I figured certain ingredients would taste good together and I just started mixing and hoping for the best,” the 28-year-old recalled.
In sharing the dessert with her family, London got great reviews and would eventually go on to sharing her creation with the nation through her business, Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights.
“I resigned from my job as a nursery school teacher to be here in Guyana so I needed a way to start providing for myself and this frozen yoghurt is something that I used to make when I am in Guyana so I decided to invest in it because my family liked it so I figured other people would like it too,” the young woman stated.
London launched her business, Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights, at Linden’s Business Expo held in December, 2019 where she sold out, selling over 100 cups of her frozen yoghurt in one day.
London noted that she was surprised at the support she got on the first day of selling her frozen dessert because the product was new to the market and not much persons were aware of what frozen yoghurt was.
The ex-teacher told Village Voice News that her business has grown tremendously over the years, with her market expanding from Linden to places like Berbice and Georgetown.
Like all entrepreneurs, London has faced challenges with her business, and hers was having ingredients she would use to make her frozen desserts readily available.
“Because I try to make my yoghurt taste different from other brands some of my products that I use is hard to find in Guyana so that is one of the challenges that I face. I am hoping to one day, be able to import my ingredients so I do not have to struggle driving from this store to that store,” she related.
Nevertheless, London has not allowed her challenges to limit her and is advising budding entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and their products and services.
“My advice would be to believe in yourself, believe in your products and do not let anyone detour you from that because many people would complain about your prices but my thing is that if you believe in yourself you are going to make it. Trust that you are making something that is worth it and do not sway from that,” London said.
Currently Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights are sold at Foodmaxx in Giftland, Caliente Spot in Berbice and at London’s Fair’s Rust home in Linden.
Persons interested in purchasing Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights can call London on (592)6761440, message her on Facebook or Instagram at Nina-Shi’s Creamy Delights.
“People should choose my frozen yoghurt because firstly, it is homemade so it does not have all the preservatives inside; you would not feel as guilty eating it because there will be chucks of fruits inside which are healthy, and it tastes great,” she said while reminding persons why her product is the right choice.
In the future, the young woman, who apart from cooking, enjoys singing, doing voice overs and spending time with family, wants to sell her products internationally, especially in places like the Caribbean islands and the USA.
She is also working towards having her products available in Linden super markets in the near future.