POKS Spices X Crescendo Foods Partnership

West African foods and flavors have impacted global cuisines across the globe, and yet haven't gained the necessary global recognition as other non-Western cuisines foods and flavors. 

Agriculture and the food sector plays a critical role in the economies of West African countries. For instance, in Ghana, the backbone of its economy is agriculture with its food service sector valued at more than $1 billion. However, there is an untapped opportunity to create economic advancement, and provide more access to nutritious food in-country and beyond its borders. One of the barriers to this growth is access to commercial grade kitchen spaces for food startups and small food businesses. Additionally, there is an opportunity to partner emerging food brands with qualified food experts with international food expertise, as brand mentors. 

Therefore, POKS Spices has partnered with Crescendo Foods and is committing to:

1) Establishing & Funding an Annual Grant Program:

A Ghanaian emerging food brand will be selected annually and provided with 40 hours of kitchen time and 20 hours of food expertise, to enable the brand recipient reach into local and global markets. The grant recipient will also receive mentorship support from POKS Spices.

2) Donating portion of Annual Sales Revenue:

POKS Spices will donate a portion of its annual sales revenue to Crescendo Foods to help establish its capabilities to reach more emerging brands beyond the grant program and beyond Ghana, to other West African countries. Therefore, a portion of your purchases will go directly to impacting food brands in the West African region and help to increase the product offerings coming out of the region, meeting global and international standards.

POKS Spices is a Texas-based award-winning food company, dedicated to bringing bold West African flavors to the American grocery and pantries. At the heart of their mission lies the West African holy trinity of spices: chili pepper, ginger, and garlic, foundational ingredients integral to West African cuisine, which we expertly incorporate into our products, with love. 

POKS Spices was founded by Abena, who was born and spent her formative years in Ghana, and hails from a legacy of Ghanaian farmers with her father, late grandfather and late great grandfather being farmers. She is a trained food scientist with over a decade’s worth of practical food industry experience in the United States, most recently as the head of regulatory affairs for a cultured meat food tech startup.

Learn more about POKS Spices at www.poksspices.com

Crescendo Foods is Ghana’s first non-for-profit (NGO) food co-working hub providing a pan-African-centered solution to the challenge of a globally-minded Ghanaian food entrepreneur equipped for the international food market. As part of the solution, Crescendo has created a food business incubator which provides a commercial kitchen space and business development services. Additionally, to the cloud kitchen concept, Crescendo Foods championed system advocacy with Ghanaian food start-ups to understand their needs and explore opportunities to sell more food, acquire more customers, and streamline operations to international standards. 

The broad development concept CF’s align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 2-Zero Hunger; Goal 8- Decent Work and Economic Growth; Goal 12- responsible consumption and production. Using these SDGs concepts, Crescendo Foods has deployed self-advocacy and system advisory to promote equality, social justice, social inclusion and human rights through its core services and engagement with users in the Ghanaian food ecosystem.

Crescendo Foods was founded by Dr Wanida, a trained food scientist focused on creating outreach programs that will enhance women’s participation in agriculture through developing economic empowerment opportunities. She has over a decade’s worth of practical food industry experience having worked for companies like General Mills. She resides in Ghana, West Africa and is a certified yoga instructor.

Learn more about Crescendo Foods at https://crescendogh.com