AYO Foods expands offerings and partner with ‘Top Chef’ alum
AYO Foods recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. When Fred and Perteet launched the brand, they wanted to share the flavors of West Africa. It began with three dishes, in the frozen food section, and has expanded to six frozen food dishes and two hot sauces. The Spencers also have partnered with “Top
Chef ” alum Eric Adjepong to create two new dishes.
It has been a really exciting journey for The Spencers to see the business grow and flourish during the last year, given that it was launched in the pandemic. It has been rewarding for her to see how excited people are about the brand and the food items.
“Our vision was always to create a brand that extended beyond just frozen, really introducing West African flavors across the store,” Perteet said.
The distribution of AYO Foods has expanded 50-fold. At first, the products were available at Whole Foods and some other smaller local grocery stores. Now, AYO Foods also is in Kroger, Marianos, Bristol Farms, Fresh Market and Central Market stores across the country. The Spencers were huge fans of Chef
Eric Adjepong when he was on “Top Chef,” and the way he was highlighting West African food and its impact on the broader food culture. It very much aligned with what they were trying to do with AYO. They reached out the Chef Eric via LinkedIn and connected with him. They became fast friends because of their shared vision to extending the reach of West African foods.
“We feel super grateful to have both connected with him, but also to partner with him and be able to bring his delicious recipes to more people,” Perteet said.
Chef Eric is a Ghanaian-American who appeared on season 16 of “Top Chef.” Born and raised in New York City, Adjepong is based in Washington, DC. The two dishes Waakye, beans and rice, and Chicken Yassa are classic West African dishes.
“AYO means ‘Joy’ and cooking West African food and sharing its rich flavors with both those familiar with, and those new to the cuisine, brings me deep joy,” Adjepong said. “It’s exciting to share some of my favorite recipes and collaborate with a partner who deeply understands the transformative power of West African cuisine. I’m thrilled to be a part of the movement to make this food more prominent in mainstream grocery culture.”
Just from the initial conversation with Chef Eric the Spencers found he had a similar vision and approach to business as they did. Chef Eric was grounded and family-oriented and they knew it would be a good partnership going forward. The quality of Chef Eric’s food was what made the partnership a perfect match for the Spencers.
The Spencers are planning more partnerships like they one they have with Chef Eric. When it comes to those partnerships, shared values are very important to them. Since AYO Foods was inspired by family and the idea that share is often better shared with the people you love. And, those partners have to share a love for West African food and culture.
In the past year, the Spencers have received a lot of request for more access to the products. They have a solid lineup they want to bring to more people. They are focused on making sure AYO
Foods is appropriately represented in every city in the country so everyone who wants to enjoy the flavors is able to do that. It is the Spencers goal to get AYO Foods into every home in the United States.
For more information about AYO Foods, visit www.ayo-foods.com.
