Meet Lucky Idike | CEO Afroflavour

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lucky Idike and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lucky, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We realised that African cuisine had a limited market outside Africa and we wanted to change that. We want billions of non-Africans enjoying and benefitting from the healthy, varied and diverse flavours of African cuisine. From the different flavours of Jollof rice, to the spicy taste of suya to the sour taste of Injera, Africa offers amazing food that the world needs to taste and enjoy.

We see a market for African cuisine that can be $10bn by 2035. And that’s why we are in business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Building a business is never easy. It requires first the vision to see what’s possible and the courage to launch out in pursuit. It also requires consistency and a dogged resilience to overcome the many challenges that will be faced. Above all it requires faith in God and confidence in your God-given abilities.

Along the way we have learnt several lessons that have helped us distill the essence of our business as presented in the preceding paragraph.

What we are most proud of is the community of Afrolovers that we are building and impact we have had on members of that community. We have created in various cities across the world, platforms to showcase cuisine and other elements of African culture like fashion, art, books et al. Through our Food Business Conferences, we are also building capacity, competence and increased cohesion amongst African Food Business Entrepreneurs with a view to helping them develop their voice and do better in the market place.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would definitely check out the following spots for excellent African cuisine and groceries for cooking them at home.

Kalahari Dining by La Classe Cuisine, Lagos Buka Katy, Taste of Nigeria, Suya King Pop-Up, Shawarma & More, South West Farmers Market and Choppn Blok are excellent food spots to check out. The Post Oak complex is full of amazing food places.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to salute the mothers of Africa. Their working over coal and wood fires, with different spices, meats, vegetables and other ingredients have created the basis for the world’s next biggest cuisine revolution.

And to the modern chefs who expand the boundaries of African cuisines with imaginative fusions we also say a big thank you. And bringing it home, I salute friends, family, colleagues, sponsors and partners too numerous to mention who have refined, encouraged and supported the vision in diverse ways. To Idy, ABA, Rye, Bimbo, Kelechi and so many more especially Nigeria’s Sterling FInancial Group Plc we say a big thank you!

Website: https://www.afroflavour.org

Instagram: @afroflavourevents

Facebook: afroflavour

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Other: Tiktok: afro.flavour