From passion to profession, Kathy Johnston turned her lifelong love for chocolate into a celebrated career in fine chocolate-making
“Many of the UAE’s achievements and goals can be credited to the scores of women whose voices are heard here”
Your love of chocolate turned into a rewarding career; what is your advice to young entrepreneurs who wish to pursue their passion?
Try as many different things as you can – you’ll find your calling when you’re ready. It wasn’t until after numerous jobs that courage – and frustration – finally drove me to pursue my chocolate dreams. It’s also worth knowing that practising a passion differs from the reality of operating a business. Thankfully, I'm equally enthusiastic about management and marketing as I am about chocolate – which is great because I spend most of my time on logistics, invoicing and making sure the printers are on schedule.
A lot of labour and love goes into making each chocolate bar at Mirzam. What’s your favourite part of the process and how do you go about the challenges that come with it?
The creativity that goes into developing a new recipe is the most enjoyable part of chocolate making; we conduct extensive research on the history of different regions, cultures, spices and ingredients and use our findings to put together recipes that tell a story. As the workload increases during peak seasons, creativity becomes harder to find and ideas more difficult to cultivate.
It’s good to take a step back from time to time to rediscover the inspiration I need for new collections. Travel and family time help a lot.
Describe a typical workday.
I’m normally in the factory before the team comes in and start the day by putting together a to-do list of important tasks. At least twice a week I make sure not to take any external meetings to focus on the factory and spend one day a week in our retail space to work on our displays and product storytelling.
With Ramadan and Easter around the corner, the team and I will be reviewing our products and packaging and checking in on our ingredients to make sure all is good to go for the busy season.
Sustainability is at the core of Mirzam, why is it important in business?
Mirzam is a 100% Emirati-owned business with a long-term view; sustainability is a must when working toward goals that extend beyond ‘now’. We are working on evolving into an organisation that can sustainably operate over many generations. For that, we hope to create products that reflect the best of what can be manufactured in the UAE with the highest-quality ingredients from around the world.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of being a woman in a competitive industry?
I’ve never been treated differently because of my gender in the UAE. I am grateful for everything the country has done on that front and proud to be part of the growth. Many of the UAE’s achievements and goals can be credited to the scores of women whose voices are heard here. In craft chocolate, particularly, there are many women-led businesses doing remarkable things.
Who do you look up to in the industry?
Neha, the ‘Ramen Lady’ behind Kinoya is a wonderful human who is bringing new-generation magic into F&B reality. She uses social media to transparently highlight her challenges, leadership style and journey; I'm in awe of her courage.
