Yonas Alemu, founder of Lovegrass Ethiopia, has successfully introduced teff-based products to international markets, including teff pasta in Italy.
Yonas was born and raised in a farming community in Ethiopia, where some of his earliest memories involve waking up before dawn to help in the teff fields. In his area, schooling was only available up to grade eight, after which many children returned to household chores and farming. However, Yonas’s parents were adamant that all their children receive a proper education. To continue his studies, Yonas had to walk 12 kilometers each day to a nearby town. Yonas then completed his high school education in Addis.
Yonas earned scholarships to study first in Bulgaria followed by the UK where he established his 17-year career in investment banking before leaving his career in London to establish a health food company in Ethiopia. Despite initial skepticism from friends, he persevered, setting up a factory on the outskirts of Addis.
Lovegrass Ethiopia faced several challenges, including political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed production. However, the company has since secured deals with major international retailers. “The day we first exported pasta to Italy was probably one of my happiest,” Yonas reflected. The company now focuses on both international and domestic markets, with sales split almost evenly.
Teff, the tiny grass seed native to Ethiopia, ranks among the world’s most ancient cultivated crops, having been domesticated between 6,000 and 4,000 BC. For thousands of years, Ethiopians have used teff flour to make the diet staple of ‘injera’.
Celebrated as a superfood, teff is gluten-free and rich in nutrients including iron, magnesium, manganese, calcium, zinc, and vitamins B and C. Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie has even credited teff as a factor in his athletic success.
Sources:
www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/the-businessman-who-exported-ethiopian-teff-pasta-to-italy/
www.lovegrass.com
