UAE: After watching YouTube videos on making chocolate, Emirati opens kiosk at 21

Walk down the Ramadan Park Market at Umm Al Emarat Park this Friday or Saturday from 8pm to 1am, and you will be attracted to a tempting smell rising from a mobile kiosk cart. That is where you will spot Fatima, a 21-year-old Emirati girl Fatima Al Mehairi, eagerly selling homemade chocolates.

This is for the first time Fatima, a student of Zayed University, is selling chocolates at a public space. She developed the mobile kiosk cart to hit the streets in February .“I have been visiting Umm Al Emarat Park. This place is popular among people and I got an opportunity to participate in the Park Market. Now, more people know me and my chocolate.”

How it started

Taking challenges and dissuading comments in her stride, Fatima has turned her childhood love for truffles into a small kiosk business of homemade chocolates. It was at 12 that she first tried her hand at making chocolates by watching YouTube videos. It was a success, making Fatima grow passionate about making chocolates.

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Soon, she felt the need to be unique and found her secret ingredient to make the flavour of her truffles distinct.“I added my personal touch to make it special and different,” she told Khaleej Times

The ADNOC School student soon became known among friends and family circles for her delicious chocolates.

Sweet success

As she kept experimenting with different products, Fatima also chose a name – BamBom Sweets – for her chocolates. “I started this as a business in 2018. Initially, it was a home business with only truffles. Later, I added brownies, rocky roads, rice krispies, and others.”

Over the past few years, Fatima has also created a new logo featuring her baby face, giving her brand a catchphrase ‘my childhood cravings’, attractive paper boxes and bags with a ‘thank you’ note. She also has an Instagram page @ bambom.sweets to spread the word about home delivery services.

About the appealing logo, she says: “When I was small, I used to crave chocolates. My logo of myself as a baby, and my brand’s tagline are symbolic of starting my business when I was in school as a student. It’s my design and concept. My final years of school were quite stressful as I tried to build my business. But it has been successful.”

A career-oriented youngster, Fatima pointed out that the journey to becoming a businesswoman is not going to be a cakewalk.

“Women face a lot of hard times, but they have to be strong and not give up. The first time I opened my business, I got a lot of negative comments from people, saying this is ‘too big for me to handle’ and ‘I can’t do it’. I ignored them all and went alone with my work. I am in a happy place today. As you know God always chooses for us the good decisions at a perfect time.”

What next

Pursuing her graduation in international relations at Zayed University, Fatima is confident of balancing her professional career and homemade chocolate business.

“I am a multitasker. I see myself in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I can handle both.”

Her future plans include launching a food truck at the waterfront destination of Al Qana. “Participating with a kiosk cart is a good beginning for my business. After gaining experience, I plan to open a food truck, which will serve not just chocolates but also drinks, coffee, milkshakes, etc.,” said Fatima.

Fatima makes all the products by herself, and her brother is the first person to do a quality check. “I make them myself. The owner is making these chocolates,” Fatima chuckled.

• UAE