Meet Anika Ajaga | Creative & Soup Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anika Ajaga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anika, how do you think about risk?
You know the saying “No risk, no reward”? To me it means stepping away from the tried/true & thinking in different shapes/colors to breathe new life into our ideas. To enable growth, we gotta feed our curiosity. I feel free when I take risks because I made a conscious decision to potentially be ridiculed, fail or fly. There’s freedom in the action alone, but also in the outcome. If I fail, i still win because I learned something. If I fly, my confidence gets a little boost & I have more courage to take an even bigger risk the next time.

Growing up I was a risky gal, whether it be sports or an unpopular opinion. As a young adult, I definitely felt the pressure to live up to society’s version of what success is or looks like. Because of that it became “safe” to be less risky but also boring & my life became stagnant. I left a very well paying job that provided the security I craved to sell homemade soup to people on the internet & begin unveiling myself as a creative to the world. That was riskiest risk I’ve taken because it demanded that I recondition my mind, which is an ongoing process.

What should our readers know about your business?
Souper is my very first official business. It’s my baby & i’m so excited to share it with the world. I’ve always used cooking as a way to decompress, it’s very soothing. I also value comfort whether it be my style of dress, what I eat or the company I keep. Soup is comfortable & warm & inviting. I see it as an edible universal bonding agent for humans. I decided to make soup because 1) no one has ever had a bad time eating soup 2) its a fun way to endlessly experiment with different flavours & 3) I wanted to be able to bring people together in a world where I feel we are constantly driven towards division. My business is different because its soup! Most people only think of soup when its cold out or they aren’t feeling too great. Souper is here to push those boundaries of what is appropriate & when. It hasn’t been easy working in la, auditioning for commercials, making/selling soup, as well as working on another project I’m hoping to launch by the end of this year. I feel overwhelmed sometimes, other times impatient, sometimes I feel alone; but the support/feedback I’ve gotten from loved ones & complete strangers (positive or negative)has been my #1 motivating factor.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Honestly, the best times I’ve had in the city have all been extremely unplanned. I’m a Virgo & we tend to put wayyyy too much pressure on perfection. So my happy medium is finding one really cool thing to do for the day & letting everything else flow. The beach is always a go! Any type of live music is a vibe or arcades! Family arcade is $25 for the day & you can play retro games until 2am. Also very trippy inside! There’s also a cool barcade in ktown called EightyTwo that my beautiful friend Alex introduced me to. That’s a cool spot to grab drinks & play games! OTI art gallery in the Arts district or Hauser & Wirth if you’re feeling saucy. There’s a neat lil bar in the cut by the gift shop called Manuela. Take a date there! Thank me later  I’m a big fan of authentic connections so you won’t really find me in social situations where people are kinda forced to mingle. Like a club…that’s a crash & burn situation for me & all parties involved.Lol. Honestly, with the right people & an open mind anything can be a vibe!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to God. Everyone I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing has been of his doing & i’m so glad I’ve crossed passed with so many amazing souls.

Website: https://shef.com/order/shef/anika-j

Instagram: @anikaajaga @livesouper

Image Credits
Emma Yeeyick