Aveshe Food Products: Turning tradition into innovation
Born out of love for traditional Namibian cuisine, Aveshe Food Products emerged during the Covid-19 lockdown when founder Grace Penonghenda Nakalondo casually shared local dishes and spices on social media.
The posts sparked unexpected interest – friends and family began placing orders, leading Nakalondo and her husband to formalise what started as a light-hearted idea. “We’ve never looked back since,” she says.
Today, Aveshe Food Products proudly offers a wide range of traditional and natural products that celebrate Namibia’s indigenous flavours.
Aveshe Food Products is not just selling food, it’s preserving culture, empowering communities and redefining what it means to eat local.
Their line-up includes elume linyika (wild garlic), omwayi (marula kernel dry sauce), hibiscus tea made from locally grown flowers, ondjove (marula oil), naras, and eembe (bird plum). Moreover, each product is carefully sourced from local communal farmers and processed to maintain authenticity, purity and nutritional value.
Empowering Namibians
With a background in pharmacy, Nakalondo combines her scientific knowledge with her passion for traditional foods, exploring their health benefits while promoting community-based food innovation. “Our products are preservative-free and support healthy, natural eating,” she explains. “We’re also empowering rural farmers and helping preserve indigenous food knowledge.”
However, the journey hasn’t been without challenges and trials. Scaling up production to meet accreditation standards, sourcing quality packaging, and maintaining consistency have tested the business’s resilience. Yet, Nakalondo remains optimistic. Her biggest aspiration is to see Aveshe Food Products become a household name, proudly displayed in Namibian homes and retail shelves across the country, and eventually, the world.
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple but powerful: “Persistence in improving your business is key to success. Start small, but think big. Good customer service can grow your business faster than you can imagine.”
The posts sparked unexpected interest – friends and family began placing orders, leading Nakalondo and her husband to formalise what started as a light-hearted idea. “We’ve never looked back since,” she says.
Today, Aveshe Food Products proudly offers a wide range of traditional and natural products that celebrate Namibia’s indigenous flavours.
Aveshe Food Products is not just selling food, it’s preserving culture, empowering communities and redefining what it means to eat local.
Their line-up includes elume linyika (wild garlic), omwayi (marula kernel dry sauce), hibiscus tea made from locally grown flowers, ondjove (marula oil), naras, and eembe (bird plum). Moreover, each product is carefully sourced from local communal farmers and processed to maintain authenticity, purity and nutritional value.
Empowering Namibians
With a background in pharmacy, Nakalondo combines her scientific knowledge with her passion for traditional foods, exploring their health benefits while promoting community-based food innovation. “Our products are preservative-free and support healthy, natural eating,” she explains. “We’re also empowering rural farmers and helping preserve indigenous food knowledge.”
However, the journey hasn’t been without challenges and trials. Scaling up production to meet accreditation standards, sourcing quality packaging, and maintaining consistency have tested the business’s resilience. Yet, Nakalondo remains optimistic. Her biggest aspiration is to see Aveshe Food Products become a household name, proudly displayed in Namibian homes and retail shelves across the country, and eventually, the world.
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple but powerful: “Persistence in improving your business is key to success. Start small, but think big. Good customer service can grow your business faster than you can imagine.”
