Rose Yombo Djema On Spicing Up African Cuisine With Neema Food

Rose Yombo Djema is the visionary behind a distinctive array of carefully crafted chilli pastes infused with the rich flavours of Central Africa. Birthed from a keenness to share an age-old family recipe with the world, Rose embarked on the journey to produce Neema Food, which brings to kitchens chilli pastes that elevates every dish by bringing out sumptuous earthy African flavours. We chat with Rose…

1.Rose, tell us a little about Neema Food? What is it? Neema Food is a premium brand which aims to bring the taste and authenticity of African cuisine through our range of condiments to the western palette. This is in line with consumers increasing interest for authentic global cuisines and deliciously spiced products. With growing trends for spicy food and West African flavours, adventurous consumers are spicing things up with a fifth eating more spicy food than 5 years ago and 26% replacing salt with chilli sauce or flakes. 2. How did you get started on the Neema Foods journey? I am originally from DR Congo; I’ve lived in London for over 20 years. Prior to starting Neema Food I worked in the charity sector as a Fundraising Manager, and I left my job to work on Neema full time. I wanted to introduce consumers to African cuisine with our range of chilli pastes which can be used as a table sauce, marinade, condiment or cooking ingredient. Our chilli pastes are made from my family recipe, my mum first made them when she was 12-year-old to take to boarding school because the food was bland, and she used the chilli paste to add flavour to her meals. 3.What inspired you to start Neema Food? The idea of Neema Food came to me whilst shopping in my local supermarket after work. I noticed the lack of representation of African food products on supermarket shelves, so I thought to fill the gap by introducing people in the UK to African flavours with our range of chilli pastes.

To learn more about Neema Foods visit www.neemafood.com

With African cuisine growing in popularity, Neema Food presents an opportunity for retailers to offer a unique brand and delicious products that can occupy and develop its own space as well as the market for African cuisine in the same way as Indian, Chinese, Thai and Mexican food categories over the last decades.

4.How has your product line evolved since you launched Neema food? Our current range of products are authentic chilli pastes which has been in my family for over 3 generations. We use 100% natural ingredients with no preservatives, additives or added sugar. They are a perfect balance of heat and flavour and can be used as a marinade, condiment, table sauce or as a cooking ingredient. They will enhance your eating experience with delicious fruity and aromatic spicy African flavours. All our products are gluten free and suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians.

They are now available across 90+ health and independent stores across the UK, on Amazon UK and on our website. 5.Which product is the most popular and what is special about it? Our bestseller is our African Fruity & Fiery Scotch Bonnet chilli paste. It is the hottest of our range and is very popular because of the scotch bonnet chilli used which has sweet undertones. Scotch Bonnet chilli is best known for the unique flavour it brings to jerk dishes in Caribbean cuisine but very few know that it’s also widely used in African cooking.

Our chilli paste is cooked according to our family recipe and blended with our spices, it has the perfect balance of heat and flavour which people love.

6.Where do you source your ingredients for your sauces? We deeply care about the environment and the communities where we source our ingredients. Therefore, we ensure that our entire supply chain is transparent, sustainable and that our products are produced in the most ethical way. Our chillies are sourced directly from local African farmers, and they come in fresh every few months in the UK. We are dedicated to continuously work closely with farmers in Africa so that they achieve better overall trading conditions.

7.How have your sauces been received in the market? We’ve had great response from consumers, they really love our products. We have over 100+ 5-star reviews on Trustpilot and received 2 Great Taste Awards for 2 of our chilli pastes. Our customers add our chilli pastes to everything! In their breakfast, lunch or dinner, they are very addictive!

We are also currently working on exciting new products and will be launching some before the end of this year so follow us on our social media and do keep an eye for a new product announcement coming soon.

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