Ayo West African Foods

Chicago’s West African Frozen Food Brand Is Shaking Up the Grocery Game | Eater Chicago

"Launched by Hyde Park couple Fred and Perteet Spencer in July 2020, this frozen-and-boxed West African food brand adapts traditional low-and-slow stews into convenient, quick-prep meals (many reheating in under five minutes). Perteet’s Liberian-American family recipes and her background as a brand manager shaped the product approach as they balanced authenticity with manufacturing constraints. The line has expanded into grocery chains, added hot sauces, and partnered with chefs (including Eric Adjepong and Zoe Adjonyoh) to introduce dishes such as chicken yassa, egusi seed soup, jollof rice, aboboi (a vegan bambara-bean stew), and groundnut (peanut) stew. A social-impact arm called the Moonboi Project works with nonprofits like Girl Power Africa and helped rejuvenate 15 acres of farmland in Monrovia to grow ingredients; the brand’s name means “joy” in Yoruba." - Naomi Waxman