ENTREPRENEUR: Confectioner Karen Schneid raises the bar
What started as a hobby has become a successful business inspired by delectable French confections
What started as an "indulgent hobby" has taken Karen Schneid from an 18-year career as an advocate at the Johannesburg bar to creating classy, delectable confectionery for her brand, Ooh La La. It offers more than 50 products, from subtle marshmallows to crunchy nut pebbles, enticingly packaged with characters that tell the "stories" behind the products. We meet in what was once the law library in her home, a few steps from her manufacturing base. Authentic French furniture sets the scene. Exquisite attention to detail shines though in her home as in her confectionery. Schneid looks more like someone ready to trawl fashion houses than study the chemistry of sugar, but that’s part of the charm of her story. "I never meant to make this into a business; it was really an indulgent hobby, but having been at the bar helped. "Growing up I had an uncle who was a judge, which initially attracted me to the world of law. I knew I wanted to travel and I had expensive tastes, so I thought I’d be...
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