OUR STORY
HELLO,
We are Franck and Lucia. I was born in the Ivory Coast but grew up in Senegal and Italy, Lucia was born and raised in Italy by Congolese parents.
​We always wanted to do something to give back to the community back home, but we weren't sure how at first.
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We knew that agriculture and adding value to the raw products played a crucial role in the lives of people there.
However, it’s only by visiting the Ivory Coast on a regular basis and starting conversations with local producers and going in remote areas that we witnessed their passion for their land and their work, and their willingness to do better every day.
During a long conversation with my dad about agriculture in Africa and the health benefits of natural ingredients, he offered me some flakes of dry ginger to try - I had never tasted anything like it before and wanted to share it with Lucia, I packed some in my bag for her to try. Lucia loved it!
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Lucia suffers from digestive disorders. So we started using the flakes to make our own ginger tea after every meal - the result was incredible. She felt less bloated and less fatigued within days.
The decision was made - why not share this fabulous superfood with others? Right there and then, without us possibly realizing it - our business was born.
A friend introduced me to one of the ladies from a cooperative that produces the Ginger Flakes. Her name is Amy. She told me her heartbreaking story. After the political crisis (2010), her husband went to look for better job opportunities in another country but never came back. She was left with her sisters and four children to raise, and selling ginger flakes and other products at the local market was her only source of income.
This was our lightbulb moment - we decided to make it our mission to find the best natural ingredients grown in Africa by local small-scale women producers and help them improve their livelihood by sharing these unique products with customers all over the world.
In February 2016 SACO Superfoods was born.
As of February 2020, we are sourcing our products from cooperatives of small-scale producers where we have: 7 women (for the ginger flakes) - 79 women (for the Dried Mango) - around 30 women (for the Moringa) - 40 women (for hibiscus and Baobab).
Since we started working with the"ginger flakes" women in 2016, their income to support their children has more than tripled.
Our aim is to increase the number of producers while empowering these women and reaching more local communities, adding value to these raw ingredients, and bringing these natural products to our customers all around the world.
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We are really passionate about what we do and we love talking to our customers. If you want to learn more about the benefits that natural superfoods from West Africa have to offer, don’t hesitate to get in touch.​
​Franck & Lucia
