Nicole Astra:
Welcome to Talking Plant Protein. I'm Nicole Astra and I'm learning about a new grain today, which you guys know gets me really excited. Uche Jumbo is in the hot seat today. Welcome to the TalkLab studio.

Uche Jumbo:
Thank you, Nicole.

Nicole Astra:
All right. Tell me about your product. I know that you've been working very hard the last three years with an entrepreneurial spirit to bring something new to the states from Africa. Tell me about it.

Uche Jumbo:
So my brand is called Choputa and it means, discover, in my native dialect, Ibo language, in Nigeria. And so what we are really driving is, discover something new, discover one of these numerous ancient super grains we have in Africa that really has a healthy benefit. So it's a two prong approach. We enrich the society. We have economical transformation on one end in Africa, and then we're amplifying the brand and giving some healthy [nutritionous 00:00:57] value, some nutritional cereal to the world. So it two prong, and that's really the core of what I'm driving. Instant breakfast cereal that is made out fonio, is packed with five grams of protein, it has fiber in it. It's certified non GMO, it's gluten-free, certified vegan and certified whole grain. And it has a hearty, delicious taste. It contains fruits, simple ingredients. And we're just excited to share that with the world.

Nicole Astra:
And let's talk about the grain and the nutrition behind it.

Uche Jumbo:
So, the grain is fonio.

Nicole Astra:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I had never heard about this before my introduction to Choputa.

Uche Jumbo:
Fonio is one particularly in the West African region. So you see them in countries like Nigeria, where I'm from up north, Mali, Senegal, Benin Republic. And so, it's a very ancient, super grain that is thriving. And so, the whole concept of what I'm trying to do with this instant fonio cereal is create some traction for it, create the economic transformation back home, keep the name alive, keep them growing what they're doing and how do I create a product that is healthy for the rest of the population, how do I amplify what it is? And so, there are so many things that you could do with fonio. And so right now we're just focusing on the instant breakfast cereal that we have.

Nicole Astra:
Yeah. It's fast, it's nutritious. Right.

Uche Jumbo:
And very simple ingredients. So we are trying to be transparent and to let people know that this is where we source from, this is our intention. At the same time, this is what we're putting into the food that you don't really know much about.

Nicole Astra:
Right.

Uche Jumbo:
However, we're not putting a lot. It's simplified ingredients, pretty clean label, it gives you a good, hearty taste. I mean, it's delicious. It's a new taste. It's new. I'm not going to dispute that it's not new. It's a different taste but it's-

Nicole Astra:
Well, that's what we're looking for, right, something new and different?

Uche Jumbo:
It's healthy.

Nicole Astra:
Yeah.

Uche Jumbo:
And it just grows on you. And so, I'm excited and I hope a lot of people lean in to their curiosity about what is fonio and what does this instant breakfast cereal taste like?

Nicole Astra:
Let's talk about your sourcing, how you're getting the product in the states and what it's doing for the economy there.

Uche Jumbo:
Ooh. Just like you said, fonio is not really big out here. So trying to source it is not easy. And so I'm working with a few suppliers that have been and trying to source it and they do get the grains from different African countries. And so particularly now they're trying to scale up. And so I'm hoping that as this Choputa brand goes live, we're able to get more people to taste it and source more to keep their source alive. And these farmers are out there in Mali and doing a phenomenal job of just trying to sustain this grain. And people like us are trying to amplify it, trying to take it out of their hands and give them opportunities, while trying to create something out here. So, not a smooth transition, but it is one that we are willing to go with.

Nicole Astra:
Okay. And let our viewers know where they can get their hands on it as of now.

Uche Jumbo:
Amazon.

Nicole Astra:
Yeah?

Uche Jumbo:
We're on Amazon. It's on Amazon. I hope people enjoy it. It is really a different taste, but really tasty, protein, exciting combo of freeze dried fruits, carefully created formula to get you to taste something really nice, but nutritious. And we hope you enjoy it while we are creating societal good back home.

Nicole Astra:
Uche, what's next, do you think?

Uche Jumbo:
What's next? That's an interesting question. However, what's next is what's right in front of me, which is 2022, amplifying the brand and getting it to as many hands as possible, continue to work with my mentors in the CPG companies and my colleagues that are helping me drive this through. Just, this is a year of amplifying the Choputa brand and the instant fonio breakfast cereal.

Nicole Astra:
Love it. Thanks for your time today and talking plant protein.

Uche Jumbo:
Thank you for having me.