Student launches Caribbean restaurant – with a little help from her friends

Busy mum-of-three and UCB postgraduate student Hyacinth May has launched her own Caribbean restaurant – with a helping hand from fellow marketing students.

Hyacinth’s brave new venture, named Full-A-Flava, is in Birmingham’s busy Dudley Road and was opened in January of this year.

Rather than devising her own marketing plan, the 37-year-old recognised an opportunity to get UCB’s undergraduates involved.

Five students on the University’s Marketing with Events Management course were tasked with creating a marketing campaign as part of a module entitled Psychological Approaches to Creative Communications.

Student Sandro Bondicov, aged 27 from Croatia, was part of the team which created a logo, using the colours of the Jamaican flag, and devised a strategy combining radio advertising, social media and a flash mob. He said: “It was a great experience. It’s always more fun to work on a live project.”

Hyacinth, who is studying for a Masters in Marketing Management for Events, Hospitality and Tourism, said she was delighted with the results.

She added: “I worked as a section coordinator at Marks and Spencer for many years and have raised three children. I decided to join UCB because I wanted to progress and do something to further my career. Opening the restaurant has been a brilliant experience and I couldn’t have done it without the skills I’ve learned on the course.”

Dilshad Sheikh, Dean of The Business School, said: “Many congratulations to Hyacinth on launching her new venture. I’m absolutely delighted to hear she was able to tap into skills that are embedded in the business school course curriculum and share the knowledge she has gained with fellow peers.”