We were lucky to catch up with Adjo Honsou recently and have shared our conversation below.
Adjo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
In order to be successful, I think it is important to have tenacity, passion, and a willingness to learn/adjust. The biggest proponent of this is passion. Your largest chance of success will be determined by how passionate you are, and passion can carry us through many more hardships and setbacks than the alternative. There are so many hardships that I could not have surpassed without my passion driving me. There have been countless times where I have missed valuable business opportunities due to miscommunication, whether that was a missed email or a misunderstanding of directions due to my foreign upbringing. When these come to light, I am often disheartened and unable to comprehend how I can do things perfectly so that everything goes my way, but I am never so discouraged that I will give up on my dream. I am so passionate about fulfilling the mission of FUFU n’ Sauce that it never even crosses my mind to take a break from my business. My passion is what drives me to make every business opportunity work and to grow my business exponentially.
I believe that forging success also requires tenacity and a willingness to learn or adjust your plans. These qualities go hand in hand because you cannot necessarily be successful without having both. When I want to accomplish something, I set my mind to it and do not allow for the potential of failure to be an option. However, I never restrict myself to one plan in order to accomplish my goals; I always look for multiple pathways to success so that I can adjust my plan if and when I hit roadblocks. For example, when I outgrew the commercial kitchen space I was renting last year, I was unable to find a commercial cooking space that had the hours I needed to prepare food before an event. West African food has an extremely intricate and long cooking process, and I had to prep with my staff through the night in my personal kitchen to be able to attend the last events we had last year. This year, I was determined to find a commercial kitchen to base my operations out of. There was no option for failure because we need to increase our food output to continue growing. With that in mind, I explored buying a kitchen that was built out, building my own in a fresh space, and finding a space that will accommodate my needs. Within two months of contacting various people in real estate and contractors, I was able to find a space to reserve that is being built out to fit my needs, and I have found a space to prepare food in for the first few events we have this year before we move into our new space.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
FUFU n’ Sauce is more than a food truck; it’s a culinary movement addressing three crucial challenges in the heart of St. Louis. First, we’re breaking culinary monotony by infusing the local scene with the rich and diverse flavors of authentic West African cuisine. Our menu is a celebration of cultural diversity, bringing a taste of the continent directly to the vibrant streets of St. Louis.
Second, we’ve transcended the limitations of a brick-and-mortar establishment. Our mobile kitchen takes the essence of West African authenticity directly to our community, ensuring that everyone can experience the unique and flavorful offerings of Fufu n’ Sauce.
Lastly, we’re fostering connections within the community. Through our cuisine, we aim to bridge the gap between African Americans and African immigrants, creating a space where both communities can come together, share stories, and celebrate their shared heritage. FUFU n’ Sauce is not just a meal; it’s a catalyst for cultural unity, bringing the African Diaspora and the motherland closer, one delicious bite at a time.
My name is Adjo Honsou, and I am the owner of Fufu n’ Sauce. Though I reside in St. Louis now, my story did not begin here. I was born in Togo, West Africa. My family and I immigrated to the US when I was fourteen years old. After spending time in New York, my mom wanted to move to a quieter city, resulting in us moving to live with family in St. Ann, MO. I have been living in Missouri ever since.
Growing up in Togo was the catalyst to me starting FUFU n’ Sauce. When I started my company in May 2022, I wanted a brand that reflects an authentic representation of my African roots. Furthermore, I wanted to create a bridge between Africans (culture) and the western world. I wanted the African story and way of life to be told by Africans.
I have crafted my expertise from generations of women’s cooking and tradition in my family and Togolese community. I grew up learning West African cuisine from my mom and cooking more dishes progressively over time. I have been cooking professionally in St. Louis for my community for 3+ years. I have been hired to cater events, parties, and to teach cooking classes for people looking to connect with African culture.
It is very important to me that FUFU n’ Sauce works directly with African vendors from the continent. I witnessed the vicious cycle of Africa being the source of numerous resources that help the Western world thrive, yet Africans are often left behind. I was determined to be a solution to the problem in Africa and in St. Louis. Even though we are in one of the richest countries in the world, we still have food deserts and a lack of representation of African culture. In St. Louis, I was particularly surprised at the lack of African cuisine present and the wide array of food apartheid in the surrounding area. I have been working ever since to connect people to nutritious food that will provide power and sustenance.
At FUFU n’ Sauce, our commitment to community extends beyond the confines of our food truck and catering services. We are proud to share an exciting initiative that not only enriches the cultural fabric of our community but also serves a pressing need for international students in our area. We have established a meaningful partnership with Saint Louis University, where starting in February 2024, FUFU n’ Sauce will be serving its authentic West African cuisine in their cafeteria. This partnership is driven by a shared understanding that food is not just sustenance; it’s a connection to one’s roots, a taste of home.
Recognizing the challenges faced by international students who often miss the flavors of their homeland, this collaboration aims to provide a culinary haven. Our menu, crafted with care and authenticity, brings the tastes of West Africa directly to the campus, offering comfort and familiarity to students from diverse backgrounds. This commitment is just the beginning. We are actively pursuing partnerships with other colleges and universities in our area, aiming to create a network of culinary support for international students. By expanding our presence in educational institutions, we hope to bridge the gap between cultural homesickness and the joy of rediscovering one’s culinary heritage.
Through these partnerships, FUFU n’ Sauce is not only contributing to the well-being of international students but is also fostering a sense of cultural pride and unity within the local academic community. Our vision is to make our food not just a meal but a cultural bridge, connecting people and creating a richer, more inclusive environment. This initiative aligns seamlessly with our mission to celebrate diversity through food, and we are excited about the positive impact it will have on the lives of those who call our community home, even if temporarily. FUFU n’ Sauce is more than a business; it’s a conduit for cultural exchange and understanding, and we look forward to the opportunity to expand this initiative and make a lasting impact on the local and international communities we serve.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I started FUFU n’ Sauce with an idea of using my family recipes and culture to connect with other people in my community. I saw so many people around me who had never encountered African food or culture because their families were unable to pass down African traditions as a ramification of American slavery. I started cooking for my friends and people in my network because they were curious about our shared culture as part of the Black Diaspora, and I wanted other people to experience my family’s West African recipes and the food that reminds me of home. After I started fostering these connections to African culture with friends, I began hosting small gatherings called FUFU n’ Chat where we spent intentional time connecting with our heritage and ancestors through food and reflection. Creating this safe space in my community prompted me to start sharing my culture more broadly. I started applying to be a food vendor at small events in the St. Louis area and FUFU n’ Sauce was created shortly after!
After my food gained popularity and I established my business, I was able to start applying to vend at large festivals with 300+ visitors/day. We were selling out at almost every event we showed up to. I knew soon that I would need to expand my business model. I decided to do that through the purchase of a food truck and hiring additional staff. 2023 was my first festival season with my food truck! I hired my first marketing contractor in late 2022 and my full team came together in October 2023 after hiring an administrator and Operations Director. Additionally, I was given the opportunity to compete on a popular cooking competition show in late 2023 that I am very excited will premiere in summer 2024! More details to come on that soon.
During all of that growth, FUFU n’ Sauce was still technically my “side hustle” because I was working full time as a scientist at Pfizer. I have only recently (in January of 2024) left Pfizer to pursue FUFU n’ Sauce and my design company TRIBE 228 as my full-time job.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My largest pivot to date is the transition I am making now from part time to full time business owner. I am currently facing every business owner’s greatest fear of whether my business will work and provide for me and my family. Even though I was working full time in the last two years, I still worked in my business up to 40 hours a week in order to prep and serve food all weekend at festivals. This was not a sustainable business operation or lifestyle for me and I was burning out due to the amount of strain I was putting on my body. I had to end up taking medical leave from my job in order to recover from the stress I was placing on myself. From this, I made the decision to transition my career from a scientist to a full time entrepreneur and focus on growing my business to the heights I know it will reach.
Going from working up to 80 hours a week to spending all of my time on my business has been liberating. I have been able to take time to work through some of the small issues that I didn’t have time to handle previously, and I can spend more of my time finding new business opportunities and developing my full time operations. Since this is our year of growth, we are developing a merchandise line to include the packaging of my famous curry and hibiscus tea leaves. We are also hiring enough service staff to support full time operations within our commercial kitchen and food truck. This will allow me to fulfill regular pickup orders along with our presence at events throughout St. Louis. We also plan to expand our community collaborations and begin serving regularly at the universities in St. Louis to expand our cultural impact and reach out to the international student community in the St. Louis area. Although this pivot was scary for me, I am more confident than ever that I made the right choice to focus on my passion and changing the world through food.
Contact Info:
- Website: fufunsauce.com
- Instagram: @fufunsauce
- Facebook: FUFU n’ Sauce
Image Credits
All photos were taken be Jennifer Korman Photography and Tyler Small Photography.