The brand's Co-founder Perteet Spencer, who spent her professional career at General Mills in sales, along with her co-founder's career in finance, felt “uniquely positioned to bring Ayo Foods to life,” she said. As “the only nationally distributed frozen West African meal solution in the country,” Ayo Foods’ retail launch was predominantly in the frozen section, in addition to a line of sauces, Spencer said.
Ayo Foods’ journey began in the 1970s in the Twin Cities when Perteet’s father, who immigrated from Liberia, started an import business to source authentic ingredients from his homeland. In 2018, Perteet and her husband, developed the brand and launched at retail in 2020.
The founders focused on the frozen category for its meals, including Jollof Rice, Chicken Yassa and Groundnut Stew, and appetizers, like the newly launched Mini Pies in chicken, vegetable, fish and beef fillings, because the format kept the integrity of the ingredients and flavors.
“If you have never made jollof rice, you are probably going to mess it up. I am guilty of messing it up the first several times I made it. It is very much an art and a science. So, we felt strongly [about getting] people to try it in the simplest way possible. … Let us make it delicious like it would be made at home [and then] freeze it,” she explained.
Spencer emphasized Ayo Foods’ expansion as part of the growing “cultural movement in the US” and grocery stores reflecting “the diverse fabric of our country as demographics have shifted,” coupled with an industry that is “ripe for innovation.”
Launching in retail required a combination of cold calling and a broker team
When the brand launched, the founders combined cold calling and brokers to land into retail.
With cold calling, Spencer relied on her professional network, like on LinkedIn, to connect with potential buyers. This approach landed Ayo Foods in 200 retail doors.
“You always have to put yourself in the mindset of the person that you are reaching out to. I have never been a retail buyer, but presume they get a lot of those [messages]. So out of respect for their time, always think about the value that you can create for them to make their jobs easier. … As great as I think Ayo Foods is … the buyer has a task and so really being empathetic to that and sharing your vision of how you will create value for the category and doing that as succinctly as possible,” she explained.
A few months after the launch, Spencer said she engaged a broker team which “was a game changing decision in our trajectory,” expanding the brand’s retail presence to more than 20 retailers, including Sprouts and Target.
“One of the things that we are incredibly proud of with the expansion of Ayo is that our retailers really represent a broad range … of retail … [from] independent retailers … [to] mass retailers like Target, and so that breadth really speaks to the latent market need for a more diverse set of offerings in the aisle,” she explained.
Making ‘a meaningful impact’ by expanding scale, improving supply chain
Ayo Foods’ long-term vision is for 30-40% of its sourcing to come from small scale farms, which will help “create a meaningful economic income particularly for small farmers in West Africa. … We have quickly seen the ripple effect that can have in terms of transforming …communities,” she said.
Before reaching that goal, however, the company is focused on scale and reaching more households.
“The more people that enjoy these flavors, the easier it is for us to command the scale that is required, particularly in a challenging supply chain environment to make a meaningful impact,” Specner said.
She explained that while scaling the business will help address challenges like navigating the complexities of the import process and supply chain diversification, there is also a need for greater flexibility in those areas.
Spencer emphasized the importance of strategic trade partnerships and legislative support to improve the system, especially for smaller brands.
