5 Branding Lessons from Hilda Baci’s Victory of the Guinness World Record Cooking Marathon
Before Chef Hilda Baci’s Guinness Book Record and accomplishment, I was unfamiliar with her. However, she has now become a well-known name in households due to her achievement, which has increased her brand and profile. Both her brand recognition and visibility have significantly increased.
Using her GWR breaking story as context, I want to share five branding lessons;
1. It’s best to focus on your areas of expertise and work on developing them
According to records, she had been conducting cooking classes before the GWR. This information was discovered after I read a Twitter post and followed it with various comments.
In the class she took in 2021, a Twitter user shared that his wife was in one of her classes, and there were over 100 participants in the group, and she got value from the class. The classes were held on a Telegram page and lasted about eight weeks.
In the class, it was said that she not only teaches how to make eba and efo riro (vegetable), she teaches how to make intercontinental meals as well as dishes, and combos on how to draw a food plan plus garnishing. She teaches not just to cook bland meals with a tacky presentation.
Last year, she hosted a class with over 1000 participants who each paid 30,000 Naira. Her success can be attributed to her integration of GWR exposure into her existing process and structure.
2. The world will always remember doers
When Hilda embarked on the journey of breaking the GWR in cooking, I am sure she had no idea that she would get that kind of support from the fans and followers (physical and online) who had little or nothing to gain if she won or lost. Still, I am sure she must have been surprised by the kind of love and support she got.
Known to a few who have trusted her brand over the years, and because she had grown a media presence in her craft, it was easy for people to give her all the support she needed when the need came calling.
3. Take advantage of every opportunity to achieve victory for yourself
Business owner, Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze shared on her Facebook page that she and 5348 people attended Hilda’s cooking class, and each participant paid the sum of 35,000 Naira. When you multiply the numbers, you have 187, 180,000 million Naira.
4. Don’t prioritize chasing illusions over tangible substance
The Guinness World Record achievement was an exceptional example of personal branding, demonstrating a level of courage that no one had ever dared before. Regardless of whether the task was completed, she had already proven to over 200 million Nigerians, not to mention billions of people from all over the world, that she knew what she was doing.
5. Opportunities to make a profit abound if you can identify a problem, create an innovative solution, and monetize it.
From some of the comments, it was clear that many think her classes are cheap at that amount (35,000Naira), with the kind of value that she now commands, if she chooses to double her classes next year by holding elite masterclasses, many would still be willing to pay to participate and be taught by the great Hilda Baci because the record gave her maximum visibility and media exposure that she can ride on for a long time.
Finally, in this creator economy, there’s no need to be hesitant about selling the knowledge you’ve accumulated over time at a value that reflects its worth. Remember, the significance of your knowledge doesn’t diminish, but your earnings have the potential to increase. Focus on creating value, achieving results, and the money will come naturally.
