OmoAlata (McPeppers) is a Nigerian food service brand focused on the production and sale of hygienically processed and packaged local Nigerian soups, spices and peppers. The name OmoAlata literally means ‘Son or Daughter of a Spice Seller’; it also symbolizes a native name given to local street wise kids from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. OmoAlata is a (blended, parboiled and packaged) rich pepper (tomatoes, “ata rodo”, “tatashe” and onions) mix, available in mild and hot variants.
Started by Kasope Ladipo, OmoAlata was a business that resulted from her desire to work on something that would showcase her creativity. To this extent her business won the 2015 SLA-Entrepreneur Showcase, where she received $10,000 in funding.
She came up with the concept of her business while on trips abroad. While on those trips, she went to various African stores and realized that many of the ingredients for cooking Nigerian meals were not produced or packaged in Nigeria. This is largely due to packaging issues in the country which rules out the exporting of some its food products.
OmoAlata uses only farm fresh peppers in preparation of all its pepper mix. Their pepper mix does not contain any food coloring or artificial preservatives and it is packed under hygienic conditions with a strict quality assurance policy. This is a testament to the startup’s commitment to providing its customers with the freshest products that have a natural taste.
The company organizes delivery of the tomatoes, onions and peppers from the suppliers to the factory. Contract workers at the factory sort the produce, clean them with all the stalks taken out. Next, it is blended, cooled, packaged and sealed.
The startup intends to have more product lines as it grows. Kasope plans on having tryout stands in stores to give potential customers the opportunity to taste the company’s products.