I TAKE ‘SLIMMING GARRI’ EVERYDAY -Quincy Ayodele

Mrs. Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele needs little or no introduction in the Herbal business. She is the pioneer Secretary General for the traditional medicine in Nigeria; and an adviser for the development of African traditional medicine to the World Health Organization (WHO). she speaks to Timelineng in this interview 

You’re the pioneer of traditional medicine in Nigeria; how have you been able to transform it to a global brand bringing in your children?

Like you rightly said, God has used me to pioneer herbal slimming in Nigeria and that’s about 20 years ago that I’ve been using herbal medicine in the clinical treatment of obesity. For instance, you come in, we take your medical history and we treat you clinically using herbal medicine. We use the herbal medicine for the treatment of our client within the community. But as time goes by my children went to school and after their education, they joined the business. My daughter, Tobi read biochemistry in school and after she finished from school, she joined the business and infused what she learnt while in school to improve the business. She advised me to stop pounding in our usual local formula and gave me reason why we need to repackage some of our products. It was like a tug of war because I was like, how are you going to put pawpaw inside package. I didn’t really wanted her to change the method but when she explain what she’s trying to protect because I didn’t want to lose the potency of the medicine with all these scientific method. But she assured me that, there is a way she will do it that I will not lose any natural potency of the product. So, that’s how she started and I gave her the go ahead. In fact, when she was doing Slimming Garri, I asked her how she was going to do Slimming Garri that all the formula will still be natural. So, she started speaking with a lot of manufacturers from developed countries because that has been my reason for not packaging my products all these years. I don’t want to package something that will not work or will reduce the potency. She discussed with them and I insisted that, it’s either they do everything natural or not, so everything is naturally made now to the extent that, where we have to put orange, it has to be orange not orange flavour. All the Slimming Garri, Tommy Blasting Tea even to the skin products were produced natural. 

When you started, not too many people want to be identify with you because they felt you’re been fetish and all that, how you able to convince them?

Now, God of nature himself has proven everything by putting all those ‘Ogun’ inside package.  I don’t know, who will now look at all these products and think there is anything fetish inside it. So, anybody that is still thinking that I’m a fetish herbal practitioner is just deceiving himself because as far as I am concerned, I am a medical herbal practitioner, knowing the herbs and knowing the science of the herbs and then the dosage and the medication and what we used the herbs to treat. I’m purely using herbal medicine for treatment of clinical obesity and skin treatment. It has nothing to do with Ifa (Oracle) or anything, it is pure medicine. 

Over the years, you have people patronizing you and now that you’re going scientific, how are your clients taking it?

In fact, they like it so much that I feel so embarrassed that why they didn’t tell me all these years that we have been using moulter to grind leafs and then pouring it in plastic and our locally made bottles. As soon as we came out with these ones to treat them because we have not put into the market, we only use them to treat our clients as we have been using them before, for purely on service basis. So, they were like, are you sure this is Quincy? I was like, why didn’t you tell me all these while that you want to put ‘Agbo’ inside package? So, they like it and they’re proud to take it abroad because its looks nice and all that. It is perfectly developed. 

Now that you have repackaged, are you planning to go commercial and do you intend to cope with large scale demand?

Right now, we’re still doing it on service basis. Of course the products are here and the formulas are still in my brain. So, anytime we decided to go commercial, we won’t have a problem with large scale demands. But we can only go commercial as soon as we complete our dialogue with necessary authorities. For now, we use it for service because I want to remain practitioner. I want to remain in the healing industry using herbal medicine but of course, I’m going to be open to other people that want the product for commercial basis. We would contract it out for those that will do it for us. So that it can be in other countries like America and Nigerians can even buy it from internet because right now, we have approval to sell it on Amazon website. And for Amazon.com to approve any product on health and beauty segment, the product must 100% herbal medicine. And all our products have been approved by Amazon.  

As the products been approve by NAFDAC?

That is why we said we’re still talking to necessary authorities. As soon as we finished all our paper work, it will be in the market. But for now, we’re using it for treatment of obesity as we have been using it within our community. And of course it has gone through several tests to prove that it’s safe for human consumption. It has already been approved to be sold in the United State of America. 

How were you able to bring your children into the business?

My children grew up with me and I’ve told from day one when they started hearing words that, I will send them to school and if you like you can become lawyer, engineer or doctor, you will still come to join me in this business. You can become whatever you want to because as for your own choice but when you finish with your education, you’re coming to join me in this business. 

For you to achieve this new packaging it would have cost you fortune, does that mean Quincy will be more expensive than what it used to be?

At Quincy, we’re not really expensive. We’re not particular about money because we believe money will come later. Since I started this business, it has always been Quincy and slimming. Everybody in the country knew that, if you want to slim, Quincy is the best place to be. If I was particular about money, they would have disappeared. And that name would have gone. The reason for this business is to create generational wealth. By the time the money will be coming, all these products will have been everywhere.

When the money start coming, are you planning to sell you franchise?

When that times come because if you look at KFC, they didn’t start selling franchise until after 30years. For now, we can sell franchise but when the time comes definitely. I discovered that, those that make something good, they don’t use five years to make it. Some developed a product for 20years. Our vision is to keep developing our products and using it for treatment to build confidence.  

Looking at you, one will doubt your real age, what’s the secret of the youthful look?

I’m a natural prat, an herbal medicine practitioner. I use most of my product. Of course I take a lot of slimming garri every day. All these skin product that you’re seeing now repackaged were the things have been using since because it’s anti-aging, anti-wrinkle and Share butter has sun block and its brighten the skin.  The concept of skin brightening is not that you’re bleaching your skin but you’re expolating dead skin cell away and then expose the new skin cell. Once you are able to do that naturally, you’re not going to look bleach or damage your skin. That is the concept of the cream and that is what I use. I used 100% Quincy products. I can tell when I see some of our clients who use our product judiciously.   They look radiant, glowing and youthful looking without dark knuckles or stretch marks. 

What are the things you eat to keep fit?

I’m a natural person to the core. This gum am shewing, it’s an herbal shewing gum.  I’m attracted to natural things. I eat a lot of vegetable and take a lot of selected fruits because it is not all fruits that should be taking by some people.  But vegetable should be taking by most people. And I’m very active because I still do my house work with my house girl. When I have the time, I exercise. I eat healthy and I don’t buy food from eateries. Thank God I have my daughter with me, she doesn’t allow me even eat off guards. She’s natural person even more than me. She make sure every eat healthy and she make us to drink a lot of water at a stipulated time. In our house, we must finish eight bottles of water whether you like it or not. And we have all gotten used to it. 

Obesity is on the increase and as someone who has been in the business for long, what will you say has been the cause of obesity?

Most of the food we buy from eateries caused obesity. Sedentary lifestyle, people no longer walk to their work places. You can’t find people on the street walking either they are on Okada (Bike) or inside a taxi even to short places. And people eat too much in Nigeria. Some people eat late because they get home late from work. Most people reach home by 10pm and that’s when they remember they have not eating all day and they settle for a bowl of pounded yam or Eba which is very wrong. How can you be eating Eba at 10pm? And some people think eating big meat or chicken is a sign of good living not knowing they are killing themselves. We always tell people that, meat, fish, chicken or anything that is taken from animal are formally alive shouldn’t be more than a size of an ATM card. And your serving should not be more than your palm.

We actually heard about a promo that you use to do, can tell us more about it?

On a yearly basis, we usually have our Super Saturday Slimming Cell in the month of May. It’s a promo that we created for some of our clients that normally say that, maybe they cannot afford us. We’re not expensive but it is not everybody that can be able to afford Quincy. So, we have that program for those people who will say they might not be able to pay our charges. This year edition will be coming up on May 23, 2015 and it’s for few hours. It will start from 7am to 2pm. After that time, our service move back to normal. As for the promo, we have an international body that sponsor the promo by subsidizing some of our service. We normally throw it open for people are aware of it so that they can benefit from the service.                      

What are the categories of people that can participate?

Anybody that is overweight or want to lose weight, it could be children or parents but not pregnant or breast feeding mothers. Consultation for that day is free. Usually our consultation is from 10,000 naira.  And treatment will be highly discounted. 

You are a world health expert in traditional medicine, what level has the WHO been intimated about this new products?

As a WHO expert on development of African Traditional medicine, I’m proud to say that I’m one of the herbal medicine practitioners that WHO is proud of when it comes to invention, innovation, treatment and even the environment that Quincy Herbal Slimmer have for the clinical management of Obesity. They are really proud of me and they are aware of the development of some of our formulas. 

You’ve been in the business for so long and you have your daughter here, you should be retiring now?

As far as I am concerned, I’m not retiring and I have no intention of retiring. I have the intention for bringing up my children and support them to that level where they cannot be scared of anything in the field or in the world. Then if they now want me to retire, they will now tell me but right now, I am not retiring.