Young Founders Building Lobo Worldwide Online via Temu and Beyond
In this exclusive feature, Danielle Lobo and Kimberly Lobo, co-founders of Lobo Worldwide Inc., share their journey of building a Canadian e-commerce business specializing in shelf-stable food and grocery products. They also own and operate Lobo’s Eatery, expanding their entrepreneurial ventures into hospitality.
From a home-based baking business in 2019 to achieving Star Seller status on Temu and selling over 14,000 products, the sisters discuss young entrepreneurship, e-commerce growth, and building a successful multi-channel business.
Kimberly: You chose to pause your undergraduate studies to grow Lobo Worldwide full time. What made you take that leap, and what misconceptions do people have about building a consumer brand as a young entrepreneur?
When we started Lobo Worldwide, we had a clear vision and saw an opportunity to reach a broader customer base as we expanded our product offering. By the midpoint of my degree, the business had grown to a point where it required more attention, and I realized I could continue applying what I had learned through accounting, co-op experiences, and hands-on business management.
For me, there wasn’t a single moment when I decided to pause my studies. It was a gradual realization that the business was outgrowing the way it initially operated. As we expanded across more sales channels, including Temu, order volume increased significantly, and managing everything ourselves was no longer sustainable.
We knew building a strong team would be critical to the next stage of growth, and we would not be where we are today without them.
One common misconception about building a consumer brand as a young entrepreneur is that success happens overnight or comes from a single breakthrough idea. In reality, growth is a continuous process. Every stage brings new challenges and learnings, and our success has been driven by staying adaptable, learning from setbacks, and consistently putting in the work.
Danielle: With a background in accounting, audit, and tax, you lead customer communications, finance, and key sales and technology platforms. How has your financial and operational perspective helped turn a young, home-grown business into a more structured, scalable company?
Financial and technological skills are essential to growing and sustaining a business. As the company has evolved, my background in accounting and audit has helped me focus not only on day-to-day operations but also on building the infrastructure and systems needed to support long-term growth.
As we built our accounting team from the ground up, we were able to stay closely connected to the numbers, which provide valuable insight into where we are growing, where we can improve, and how to make informed business decisions.
My audit experience has also shaped how I think about scalability. It instilled a strong focus on risk management, governance, and process control. While small businesses often rely on one person managing multiple functions, that approach becomes unsustainable as a company grows. To support scale, we have built clear, repeatable processes that can be managed effectively by an expanding team.
Technology has been central to this approach. We use a range of platforms across finance, inventory, and operations to streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and reduce manual work. Combining financial discipline with technology has allowed us to grow while maintaining the structure needed for long-term success.
Kimberly & Danielle: You began your entrepreneurship journey making custom baked goods from home, before pivoting during the pandemic to shelf-stable grocery e-commerce and eventually opening another business, Lobo’s Eatery. What did that journey teach you about adapting a business model while staying connected to what customers want?
Building Lobo Worldwide has taught us invaluable lessons about entrepreneurship, operations, and the importance of listening to our customers. These lessons have laid the foundation for another business venture, Lobo’s Eatery. Food has always been central to our family; my sister and I grew up cooking with our father, and we even ran a small baking business when we were younger.
We began with selling baked goods for friends, families and our community and was met with growing demand and we realized there was an opportunity to turn our passion into a business and grow our consumer base even further.
When the pandemic began, we had to pause the baking business, which led us to explore a different opportunity in shelf-stable grocery products and eventually Lobo Worldwide. Four years later, we returned to our roots by opening Lobo’s Eatery, bringing our experience back to cooking food and baking desserts.
Throughout this journey, one lesson has shone through: successful businesses are built and grown by listening to their customers. While having a vision and growth plan is important, long-term growth requires the flexibility to adapt to customer needs, changing market conditions and building off insights gained throughout the experience.
Danielle & Kimberly: You have expanded onto Temu, where Lobo Worldwide became a Star Seller. What initially attracted you to selling through an external online marketplace, and what has surprised you most about using a platform like Temu to reach customers and compete alongside larger brands?
Having established a multi-channel strategy through our website and other online marketplaces, when Temu emerged as another marketplace opportunity, we saw it as a strategic way to expand our reach and introduce our products to their broad audience.
We signed up through the Become a Seller application, and were quickly up and running. Having direct communication access to Temu’s business development team was especially valuable, providing hands-on support with marketing, product optimization, and performance improvement.
What pleasantly surprised us was how quickly Temu helped us reach new customers. Order volume grew rapidly, and we quickly began seeing repeat customers. For a small business, that kind of visibility can be especially valuable when competing with larger brands that already have strong awareness and scale.
Temu was key in bridging this gap by exposing our products to its large customer base and supporting product visibility, shouldering advertising costs. This gave us an opportunity to build customer trust early and establish our presence on the platform. Achieving Star Seller status also validated the work we’ve put into delivering a strong customer experience.
While starting on a marketplace doesn’t replace the groundwork needed to build a brand, we’ve found great value with Temu in terms of scaling up, growth and gaining exposure that we may not have had otherwise.
Kimberly & Danielle: You now operate across e-commerce and hospitality, creating multiple ways for customers to discover and engage with the Lobo brand. What are the biggest lessons you have learned about building a multi-channel presence, and what advice would you offer other young Canadians who want to turn a passion into a sustainable business?
One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is that while the platform may change, the customer experience shouldn’t. Whether someone discovers us through our website, Temu, or Lobo’s Eatery, they are still interacting with our brand.
As we’ve grown, we’ve focused on supporting customers throughout their journey. Our goal remains the same: to create a consistent experience and build a brand customers can trust. Staying connected to feedback has helped us adapt while keeping customer needs central to our decisions.
Different platforms help reach different customer groups, and partnering with an established marketplace like Temu gives small businesses access to a large customer base while amplifying reach. This can save significant time, effort, and marketing spend that might otherwise go towards building awareness and finding customers on their own.
For young Canadians looking to turn a passion into a business, our biggest advice is to focus on solving a real customer need rather than finding the perfect business idea. Many entrepreneurs get stuck on “What should I sell?” when the better question is, “What problem am I solving?”
Our business model isn’t unique, but we saw opportunities to differentiate through product quality and customer service. You don’t need to have all the answers. Start small, stay adaptable and keep listening to your customers. That’s what has allowed us to grow and evolve.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. Our platform is dedicated to fostering dialogue and sharing insights that inspire and empower small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.
