A Kenyan woman has made history in the United States after her coffee brand was accepted by one of the country's leading grocery stores, Trader's Joe.
Speaking to Travel Noire, Kahawa 1893 Coffee Founder Margaret Nyamumbo disclosed that she joined the business with the aim of helping women who toil on Kenyan farms to be paid better.
She moved to US for college study and after attaining an MBA at Harvard Business School, she landed a lucrative job on Wall Street.
She however quit the job in 2017 to found the company drawing inspiration from her childhood experiences when she lived on the farm.
“I grew up on a coffee farm in Kenya where I witnessed all the passion and dedication that goes into producing a delicious cup of coffee. I wanted to share it with the world while, most importantly, working to help close the racial and gender gap in the industry.
“In Kenya, women provide 90 percent of the labor in coffee, but go mostly uncompensated. I founded Kahawa 1893 to make sure the women were visible and get a fair share for their outsized contributions to coffee," she narrated.
On May 12, Nyamumbo made history when her coffee-brand became the first of its kind to be sold at Trader's Joe. The grocery chain has over 200 stores in California and continues to expand across America.
Her brand sells 100 percent Arabica Coffee.
She was elated with the feat, noting that she was a regular shopper at the grocery chain and that her brand offered diversity to its shoppers.
“It’s pretty exciting to be the first Black woman-owned coffee brand at Trader Joe’s and I have been amazed by all the support we have received from customers. As a regular shopper at Trader Joe’s, it’s even more meaningful because the coffee category has always consisted of only TJ branded coffee.
"I want to celebrate this with everyone in the community who can now shop for a Black-owned coffee brand at their local store," she added.
A report by Forbes Magazine estimates that an average coffee farming household pockets a measly Ksh 112,000 every year from their toil.
