Barima Osei Mensah: The man behind Adinkra Pastries
One great lesson I learnt in my chat with our personality for this week was that whatever you do, you need to do it as if you would never have another chance ever again and also, do it with a swag to stand out.
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Barima Osei Mensah, owner of Adinkra Pastries, said his principle in life had always been to brand (a name, term, design any feature that distinguishes one’s products from others), anything he produced in order to make it stand out from all others.
That’s how about a year ago, when I saw some young vendors on the streets of Accra in a green and white outfit with the inscription ‘Adinkra Pastries’ boldly written on the white Polo shirts, as well as the plastic containers they were carrying selling pie, I said to myself “Wow, people have now started selling pie with a swag”.
In an interview with Mr Mensah, he said when he was a child, one of the things he loved doing was selling because he wanted the finest things in life.
He observed that most of the things he could sell were already being sold by many, so he needed to do something different from what the others were doing and that was how he adopted the barter system of trading.
A product of Ashtown Nursery, Ashtown L/A Primary School, Cambridge International School, T.I Ahmadiyya JHS and Kumasi Academy, all in Kumasi, Barima remembered with nostalgia the days he sold ice cream and iced water in exchange for foodstuffs in his quest to beat the competition.
“Even when I used to take photographs at the Asanteman Secondary School in Kumasi, my mates always chose me over others because I took very good photographs and developed them the same day — that was my trick.
I often got ahead of the professional photographers who came to the school to take pictures.
“That is the same way I wanted Adinkra Pastries to be and I thank God it has, given the fact that people have already started copying our style,” he said.
Barima said he started vending the Adinkra pastries in the Ashanti Region and after he had captured a chunk of the market, he moved to Accra, and so far, things are moving in the right direction.
Mr Mensah also said he took great joy in cooking and when he found himself in the United States of America (USA), he worked with a number of fast food joints before he finally decided to return to school.
In Maryland in the US, he worked at Roy Rogers, a fast food joint and was assigned to the kitchen where he was in charge of the fried chicken needed by the joint. Later, he worked with Bruegger’s Bagels as a baker and after eight years of working in fast food joints and other retail outlets, where he sold cars, furniture, shoes etc., he decided to quit and go back to school because he wanted to achieve greater things for himself.
He enrolled at the Montgomery College in Maryland to study business.
“Going back to the classroom after eight years was a huge challenge but because I was determined to turn my life around, I persisted despite the odds”, he added.
Later, Barima gained admission to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the Temple University in Philadelphia, graduating in 2006.
Today, he holds an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) from the University of Texas.
While he was in school he was working for the Bank of America. After he graduated, however, he still worked for the bank as a Personal Banker and did other part time jobs until he returned to Ghana to start his investments
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According to Barima, the first business venture he wanted to go into was to start a class/graduation ring where students of universities and colleges could buy and wear a ring of their year group but when that couldn’t take off, he started Adinkra Pastries and has employed over 800 people most of whom are casuals.
One philosophy that has been a guiding principle in Mr Mensah’s life is humility and he quoted Proverbs 22:4: By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
For him, in life, it pays to be humble and learn at the feet of those who are more experienced. “That is the secret to success,” he pointed out.
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One advise he had for young people on entrepreneurship is a definition by Kevin Hart, an American actor which says: “Entrepreneurship is spending a few years of your life doing what most people won’t, in order to live the rest of your life enjoying what most people can’t.
Mr Mensah, who is in his early 40s, hails from Asante Kokofu and is a member of the Ashanti Royal Family. He is the direct grand nephew of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Barima has an eight-year old daughter, Princesa-Marina Osei Mensah and is currently single.