We recently connected with Helina Melaku and have shared our conversation below.

Helina, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I am born and raised in Ethiopia and migrated to America as a teenager with my family. Living in Detroit, I noticed the lack of healthy, nutritious food options, as well as the lack of African cuisine. In 2020, during the mist of the pandemic, I started Konjo Me Ethiopian Cuisine. Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and bringing my cultural food to Detroit became my mission. I felt the disconnect with my culture living in America, so I started hosting dinner parties, inviting friends, neighbors, and family frequently in my home to bring a sense of togetherness with my community. Which lead me to start my own company. In my culture, we have a very strong bond, understanding, and a sense of togetherness with our neighbors and community. It was important for me to bring that feeling of home, being away from home.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Konjo Me means Beautiful “embracing your inner beauty and your authentic self”, Konjo Me offers not only Ethiopian cuisine but packaged Ethiopian coffee, spices, and merchandize. We take pride is our ingredients which are sourced from local farmers, and our recipes are made with love, from scratch. Our mission is to bring food and products that are healthy and nutritious. Each and every member of the Konjo Me family holds a shared mission of working diligently to create authentic Ethiopian food by maximizing local resources to foster strong customer relationships. By staying true to our Ethiopian roots in food, packaged coffee, and spices. Konjo Me aims to become a name synonymous with excellent Ethiopian dining. With our hospitable services and family culture, we make our way to develop positive, long-term relationships with our customers, employees, and suppliers.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Our belief for Konjo Me is authenticity. This means sourcing spices from Ethiopia, which is a key component to the flavor of our dishes. We want to make sure every dish told a story of Ethiopia’s culture and flavor. When you eat at Konjo Me it takes you to Ethiopia, it connects you to our ancient spices which is apart of our history.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Doing pop ups in Detroit has been a great way for us to connect with our customers. Our pop ups includes education about Ethiopian food, explaining the healthy ingredients used to make the food, and most of all how to eat the food. Injera is the staple food of Ethiopia, it is made of teff wheat which looks like a thin flat bread that is jam packed with nutrients. The best part about Ethiopian food is that you use your hands to eat the food, its all about energy connection and activating your senses.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.konjome.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/konjo.me
• Facebook: Konjome
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konjome/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/konjome

Image Credits
Konjo Me Not applicable