FairEssentials: African & Caribbean Gourmet Treats
FairEssential aims to take African & Caribbean food out of the markets and corner shops to bring it to lovers of fine food. Joanne Crossley, founder and director of FairEssentials tells us more about her thriving business.
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CAV: Can you give the readers some background information about yourself?
Joanne Crossley of FairEssentials: I was born in London; my parents are of Jamaican descent. My early career was in fashion retailing. I studied Dress & Light Clothing at the London College of Fashion and Business Studies & Distribution at the College for the Distributive Trades (now known as London College of Communication). After my studies I worked as an allocator for a main high street retailer in the buying and merchandising head office. Later on, I moved into supply chain management and took the Professional Qualification at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. I have worked for well-known international companies as a supply manager within the logistics and operations departments.
CAV: What inspired you to start FairEssentials?
Joanne Crossley: Initially, I planned to start my business as a distributor for Fairtrade products from Africa & the Caribbean (hence the name FairEssentials). However, this has evolved since whilst shopping one day I noticed that there appears to be a death of quality African & Caribbean retail shops that offer a pleasant shopping experience for the customer. Generally, little information is given in store about the country of origin or how to cook African & Caribbean produce. Although the majority of customers buying produce such as yams, green bananas, plantains, etc are from the African Diaspora and are familiar with these everyday foods, there are many other ethnic groups, including Europeans, who also want to try more exotic groceries, and to know more about them. I also noticed that gourmet African & Caribbean hampers and treats are scarce. I then realised that there is a niche in the market for quality African & Caribbean products in a modern, contemporary setting, which would appeal to more diverse ethnic groups.
CAV: How has the journey been so far?
Joanne Crossley: Exciting and challenging at the same time! I have had great support from friends and family. Customers have responded positively to FairEssentials and they like the concept. It has been an exhilarating journey so far and I have met many interesting people who have also started new business. It’s great to have a network of people who can relate to what you are going through. I have been particularly inspired by Levi Roots’ story. His success since his debut on Dragons’ Den has broadened further interest in Afro-Caribbean cooking to a wider audience.
CAV: What has been your happiest business moment since you launched?
Joanne Crossley: The day I launched my business in December 2008, closely followed by my first outdoor event at the Portobello Winterfest in Notting Hill soon after launching the business. Customers loved the products and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. More recently, at the Lambeth Country show, there was fantastic response to the gourmet treats, especially to the brands that people recognised from ‘back home’ or on their travels to Africa & the Caribbean.
CAV: Tell us about the people you work with. Or do you do it on your own?
Joanne Crossley: My family and friends volunteer their services whenever they can on outdoor events and order despatch. I have my web designer Devmac, along with my sister who helps to maintain my website. I also worked with Janet Martin at Nova Marketing, who helped me to put together a marketing and PR campaign when FairEssentials launched.
CAV: What makes FairEssentials unique?
Joanne Crossley: Our uniqueness is the quality of service and the range of African & Caribbean gourmet treats and products not always seen in supermarkets or local speciality stores. We want to enable everyone to experience the qualities of African & Caribbean products and raise the profile of their origins. Also, my aim for FairEssentials is to showcase new African & Caribbean products and brands which are not always given the opportunity to have a presence in larger stores, particularly from smaller producers and suppliers.
CAV: Tell us what kind of products we can buy in your online shop.
Joanne Crossley: In the online shop there is a selection of African & Caribbean foods, gifts, beauty products and clothing. In addition to variety of everyday groceries and tropical gourmet treats, FairEssentials has a selection of organic and fairly traded products. The beauty range includes natural soaps and body butters; the gifts and clothing collection are produced in or inspired by Africa and the Caribbean. We continue to expand our product range. Many of these products have a heritage and interesting stories behind them, such as the delicious Busha Browne Burned Orange Marmalade from Jamaica, which has been around for over 180 years, and Divine Chocolates made from Fairtrade cocoa beans produced by a co-operative of Ghanaian smallholder farmers.
CAV: How do you source the products sold on the FairEssentials website?
Joanne Crossley: A combination of UK based distributors, agents, suppliers and manufacturers directly from Africa and the Caribbean.
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CAV: Who is your typical customer?
Joanne Crossley: My typical customer is African, Caribbean, white British and other ethnic groups, a lot of males but mostly females, age range on average 25-55, affluent, discerning, well travelled within Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, socially conscious, enjoys cooking and receptive to trying ‘exotic’ products. He/she is also image conscious and is interested in Fairtrade and organic products.
CAV: Do you get any feedback from your customers? What do they say about your products?
Joanne Crossley: Customers love the idea of shopping for gourmet treats, especially the hampers. The hampers are a great introduction to the best selection of quality gourmet treats from Africa and the Caribbean. Interestingly, I get many enquiries from the States and Europe in locations where there is an African & Caribbean community but certain products are hard to get where they live.
CAV: What is the best way to enjoy FairEssentials’ offering?
Joanne Crossley: It’s all about the convenience of shopping online for quality African and Caribbean products. I would encourage customers to visit the website, sign up for the newsletter so that we can keep them abreast of developments and events. We have a schedule of upcoming events which will be posted on our Facebook and Twitter. We also welcome suggestions for new products and feedback on what people think of the website.
CAV: You also have a clothing range on sale on the website. Is that something you added recently?
Joanne Crossley: Yes it is. I am seeking new clothing ranges to add to the website, particularly designs with African prints or inspired by Africa and the Caribbean. I would love to include my own collection in the future.
CAV: What’s next for you and your business?
Joanne Crossley: Ultimately my aim is to open a retail shop so that customers can feel and experience a quality shopping experience rarely seen for African & Caribbean products. For the time being, in light of the economic downturn, I will continue to build FairEssentials online.
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I’m really happy to have come across this interview. I was just browsing the site last night and wondered if it was actually black owned.
I would definitely use the service, but I’d love to see a wider variety of products there. I do love that they sell childrens books and clothes. London’s first online black supermarket? Excellent!