Succulento sauces are delicious and lovely; from their Citrussy Carrot Ketchup to their Savoury Curry Sauce, their range of flavours instantly transports you into an authentic Nigerian home-cooked wonderland. But perhaps even more lovely than the food sauces are the founders; husband and wife duo Dami and Ify are truly committed to making taste tastier. We chatted to them about their journey, aims, and advice!

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What’s your 30 second elevator-pitch for Succulento?

Succulento is a fine food producer of ketchups and sauces, inspired by our Nigerian heritage of home cooking — our mission is to make taste tastier! 

Where did the journey start?

It all started in mid-2013, when my contract ended, and I had the perfect opportunity to start something new. The question came down to what I wanted that to be; my passion for the hospitality sector was the driving force behind answering that question. My wife and I began to do some comprehensive research, and the idea of creating a sauce jumped out at us. We recognised that the public are increasingly calling out for more natural food and drink products, and decided to take a go at tackling that customer demand. We hopped into our kitchen, rolled up our sleeves, and crafted some recipes which were inspired by our Nigerian heritage of home cooking, and using natural ingredients to ignite authentic flavours. I really love food… This all led to us launching Succulento in July 2014! We did some catering in Aberdeen early on, which gave us the opportunity to check real-time feedback, and in 2016 we became confident to trial commercialising the sauces. Thus, in Mid 2017 we launched our range of sauces!

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Have you faced any obstacles when it comes to creating your sauces?

One key obstacle was understanding the supply chain and commercial routes to market, however, we had the opportunity of being part of a Business Growth Programme organised by Opportunity North East (ONE). This programme opened up a host of contacts with other agencies like Scottish Enterprise and we were able to identify and draw up possible scenarios! We’d highly recommend anyone getting in touch if they feel it would benefit them like it did to us.

Looking back, is there any advice you would have given your past self?

If I could tell my past self anything it will be, make the best of time. I think the ability to optimise time which is a very scarce resource in the start-up world, is a major skill I have come to learn. I’d also say that building a good team is crucial — it increases productivity, efficiency, and most importantly, builds a positive, supportive atmosphere!

What are you most proud of when it comes to your sauces?

The satisfaction on the faces of folks who try our sauces, especially when we attend street or farmers markets, which gives an opportunity for one to one engagement. And generally the wins we have had so far! It’s been a long journey, but I think I’m definitely proud of how far we’ve come, and how true we’ve stuck to our desire to create natural products with our Nigerian heritage in mind. One thing is for sure, we are giving everyone an open invite to hop on this journey of making taste tastier.

How can we find out a little bit more?

Our website is www.succulento.co.uk and we have Instagram, Twitter Facebook — @succulentoltd. Give us a follow!

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This article has been written by Mathilde Redshaw