As Yvon Chouinard, who at 83 has just donated Patagonia (whose profits amount to 100 million dollars per year), would say: "A company can produce food, cure diseases, control demographics, employ people, and generally enrich our lives. And it can make a profit without losing its soul." Let's see how the beautiful Zina does it.

Telling your story

“One day, I was invited to speak about my business in front of students at a high school. At the end, several young girls came up to me to thank me. They recognized themselves in my story. They were inspired to move forward and tame this great discomfort that so many of us experience with our bodies.

This is the greatest gift my project has given me, my greatest success! The school called me back to raise awareness among young people about eating disorders. From then on, I focused on the social impact my business could have. Every month, I donate a percentage of my profits to the Douglas Institute, which helped me get out of anorexia.

Zina became seriously ill in 2017. She was severely underweight, fainting and was hospitalized several times.

At the same time, she was going to HEC. She was involved in several associations. She participated in fundraisers and organized all kinds of charity events. “I realized that what attracted people the most to the stands so that we could talk to them was to offer them a little something appetizing! I started making cupcakes and small bites in the evenings and on weekends. My friends called them “Zina’s bouliches.”

Yet at the time, sugar was banned for me. But in the kitchen, I found a feeling of deep peace, of letting go, of great creativity. It was therapeutic. I forgot that I was sick. Little by little, I realized that it was not just a question of calories. That offering these desserts brought people closer, made them happy. Ironically, I discovered a passion for baking at that time, and I cured myself.

Fall into the pot

Zina had found an avenue that allowed her to make people happy. She made bouiches all the time! Then, people started asking her for them for larger events, and wanted to pay her. However, she had imposter syndrome: "I didn't dare set a price: I did it for love! And then, I wasn't a pastry chef! How could I be credible?"

She then did a six-month internship at the Ritz to learn pastry. Which would confirm her passion. “It opened my eyes. I loved pastry, but I didn’t want to become a pastry chef. I wanted to be a pastry entrepreneur.”

With her business studies in hand, entrepreneurship naturally took over. She told herself that she would do things properly: make a list of products, prices, suppliers, take photos, set up a website, etc. "If people came back to me, it was because they were comfortable with my prices."

Start your business

In January 2022, at the age of 25, she returned to HEC, her safe space , and applied to incubation programs. “I was accepted! For me, it was the sign that I had to launch myself full-time into my project.”

She felt well surrounded, supported, encouraged to pursue seriously. The incubator gave her wings. From her initial vision, selling her balls to individuals, she opened up to companies, in B2B. In particular, she approached cafes and the events sector, redid her branding , changed her name, created a presence on social networks, learned how to make sales pitches and officially registered.

The incubator confirmed that his company was definitely about social impact. “Your impact is much greater than you think,” they told him. “You’re making people aware that it’s okay to eat foods that, even if they don’t necessarily nourish the body, nourish the soul. It’s a balm for all those people who suffer from eating disorders.”

Don't they say that you have to know how to take men by the stomach?! Whether it's from the stomach to the heart, or from the heart to the stomach, Zina has it in spades!