Today we’d like to introduce you to Nya Robinson.
Nya, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Nyomi’s Puddin’ started with grief, but it grew into something that gave me purpose.
In 2021, I experienced the loss of my daughter, Nyomi. A few years later, I found myself wanting to build something meaningful in her honor while also creating a different life for myself and my son. I had spent about 10 years in education, and while I valued that chapter of my life, I knew I was ready for something different.
In 2024, I started making pudding from my home kitchen. There wasn’t a huge business plan, a storefront, or a big investment behind it. I had a product people enjoyed, an idea I believed in, and a willingness to figure things out as I went. I started selling, listening to customers, experimenting with flavors, learning how to market myself, and reinvesting into the business.
What started in my kitchen began growing faster than I expected. I built a following on social media, participated in events, developed wholesale relationships, and eventually made the decision to take one of the biggest risks of my life: opening a storefront in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, in July 2025.
The journey since then has been anything but perfect. There have been moments when I questioned whether I could keep going, including a point when I seriously considered closing the business. But those moments forced me to become a better business owner. I learned the difference between simply having goals and having a vision, how important systems and boundaries are, and that growth sometimes requires you to completely rethink how you operate.
Today, Nyomi’s Puddin’ has grown far beyond my home kitchen. We have our storefront, our products are carried by retail partners in North Carolina and Virginia, we offer catering, and in 2026 the business surpassed six figures in gross sales. I’ve also expanded into speaking and teaching other aspiring entrepreneurs about the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of, though, is creating Nyomi Gives Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on education, entrepreneurship, and equity. It allows Nyomi’s name and legacy to impact people in a way that goes far beyond pudding.
I’m still building. I’m still learning. And I definitely don’t have everything figured out. But when I look at where this started—a grieving mother in her home kitchen—and where it is today, I’m reminded that sometimes the thing you create to help you keep going becomes something that helps other people believe they can keep going, too.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I’ve learned that entrepreneurship can look very different from the outside than it feels when you’re actually living it.
One of my biggest challenges has been learning how to run a business while running the business. I didn’t come from a business background. My degrees are in Sociology and Human Services, and I spent about 10 years in education. So everything from pricing and profit margins to inventory, staffing, wholesale, marketing, systems, and managing growth has been learned in real time—sometimes through very expensive lessons.
Finances have probably been one of the hardest parts. Growing revenue doesn’t automatically mean you have a lot of money. There have been months where the business looked successful from the outside, but behind the scenes I was figuring out how to cover expenses, reinvest, pay people, keep inventory stocked, and still take care of my household. I’ve had to learn the difference between making money and actually building a financially healthy business.
There was even a point when I seriously considered closing the storefront. I had to reevaluate what I was doing, make some difficult decisions, set stronger boundaries, and change the way I operated. That season taught me that sometimes the answer isn’t to quit—it’s to stop doing things the way you’ve been doing them.
I’ve also had to navigate entrepreneurship while being a single mother. My son is a huge part of why I work as hard as I do, but balancing being present for him while building something this demanding is something I’m still learning every day. Add grief, personal challenges, and simply being human on top of that, and there have absolutely been days when I was tired, overwhelmed, or unsure of what came next.
But I think the struggles have shaped me just as much as the successes. I’m much more intentional now about sustainability, boundaries, systems, and understanding why I’m doing something instead of just chasing the next goal. The road hasn’t been smooth, but every difficult season has taught me something that I’ve been able to carry into the next one.
As you know, we’re big fans of Nyomi’s Puddin’. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Nyomi’s Puddin’ is an artisan pudding company based in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, specializing in banana-pudding-style desserts—with one major difference: there are no bananas in our pudding.
That has become one of the things we’re known for. We take the nostalgic, creamy, layered dessert people recognize and reimagine it through different flavors, textures, cookies, cakes, and crunches. Our menu has included everything from our signature No-Nanas and customer favorites like Biscoff Caramel, Strawberry Crunch, Cookies & Cream, and Lemon Velvet to more creative flavors like Chicken & Waffles, Pumpkin Gingersnap, Caramel Apple Pie, Cinnamon Roll, and Strawberry Cheesecake.
I think what sets us apart is that we don’t put many limits on what pudding is “supposed” to be. I love taking a familiar dessert or flavor combination and asking, “How can we turn this into Puddin’?” That creativity keeps the brand fun and gives our customers something new to look forward to while still maintaining the flavors they know and love.
But Nyomi’s Puddin’ is also bigger than the product itself. The business is named after my daughter, Nyomi, whom I lost in 2021. Because of that, there has always been purpose attached to the name. As the company has grown, I’ve been very intentional about making sure her legacy grows with it. That eventually led to the creation of Nyomi Gives Foundation, Inc., our nonprofit focused on education, entrepreneurship, and equity.
Brand-wise, I’m probably most proud that we’ve created something people recognize and genuinely feel connected to. Our customers—our Sweetie Pies and Puddin Pops—have watched this business grow from a home kitchen into a storefront, retail partnerships across North Carolina and Virginia, catering, new product lines, and so much more. They don’t just buy pudding; many of them have become part of the story.
We’ve also built the brand around personality. We can be professional without feeling corporate. We can be funny, creative, faith-forward, transparent, and still take our product and customer experience seriously. I think people connect with Nyomi’s Puddin’ because there is a real person, a real story, and a real purpose behind it.
Ultimately, I want people to know that Nyomi’s Puddin’ is more than pudding. We’re building a brand centered around good food, creativity, community, entrepreneurship, and legacy. The pudding may be what introduces you to us, but my goal is for what the brand represents to be what makes you remember us.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is purpose, family, and building a life that is actually aligned with who I am.
For a long time, I think I measured success by what I could accomplish—degrees, careers, goals, numbers, growth. Entrepreneurship has taught me that you can accomplish a lot and still have to ask yourself whether the life you’re building is one you actually want to live.
My children are a huge part of my “why.” Nyomi is no longer physically here, but her life continues to have purpose through everything that carries her name. My son, Nysere, gets to watch me build something from an idea, make mistakes, start over, take risks, and keep going. More than leaving him a successful business, I want to leave him an example of what it looks like to believe in yourself and have the courage to create your own path.
My faith matters deeply to me as well. There have been too many moments in this journey where things came together in ways I couldn’t have planned myself. I’ve learned that sometimes what feels like a setback is really redirection, and some of my biggest periods of growth have come after seasons when I had no idea what God was doing.
At this stage of my life, success means more than how much money I make or how large Nyomi’s Puddin’ becomes. I care about impact. I care about peace. I care about being present for my family. I care about creating opportunities for other people and showing someone else that their idea is worth pursuing.
Ultimately, I want everything I build to mean something. Businesses can close, money can come and go, and accomplishments eventually become old news. But the way you loved people, the opportunities you created, and the impact you made can outlive you. That’s the kind of legacy I want to build.
Pricing:
- Classic Puddin’ Cups — $8.50
- Premium Puddin’ Cups — $9.50
- Limited Edition Puddin’ Cups — $13.00
- Catering — Mini Puddin’ Packs and half/full-size pans available; pricing varies by size, flavor selection, and quantity
- Wholesale — Available for retailers and businesses; minimum quantities and pricing vary based on pickup or delivery
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nyomispuddin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puddin.ladii
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NyomiPuddinLadii
