Food Technology Magazine | Innovation
New Market Opportunities for an Ancient Grain
Fonio Chips maker Yolélé Foods has developed techniques to reduce fonio postharvest losses and now markets chips and pilafs made with fonio grown in West Africa.
Yolélé Foods cofounder Pierre Thiam shows off a bag of Yolélé Fonio Chips. Photo courtesy of Yolélé Foods
Yolélé Foods is bringing the flavors of West Africa to the U.S. market through chips and pilafs made from fonio, an ancient grain native to the region. Cofounded by Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam and social entrepreneur Philip Teverow, Yolélé is a Brooklyn, N.Y.–based social enterprise that aims to make nutritious fonio more accessible to people in West Africa and beyond by building a supply chain for fonio, particularly through postharvest processing improvements…
