A Closer Look at Etinde House Chilli Oils

We’re thrilled to have added Eh-Co (Etinde House Chilli Oils) to our range at TVK Supermarket! So thrilled that we wanted to reach out to Eh-Co and find out what makes them so special. Below you’ll find a Q&A interview we conducted with Ndah Mbawa, CEO of Eh-Co, discussing the origins of their chilli oils, the values they hold dear as a company, what the future holds in store for Eh-Co and more!

On your website you mention Dr Simon Ndi Tatani, father and grandfather of those running Eh-Co today, who created the original Eh-Co recipe. Can you tell us a bit more about him, and what inspired him to create the first Etinde House Chilli Oil?

Dr Ndi Tatani was my dad. He was father and mother to us after our mum passed away 3 days shy of my first birthday. He was a phenomenal father. Not just to us but many others and did his utmost to ensure we didn't feel the full impact of losing our mum so early. Daddy was a mechanical engineer by profession, the first Cameroonian to have gained a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, having studied at the Imperial College London. He headed back home in the mid ‘70s to work for the Cameroon Development Corporation (C.D.C), an Agro-Industrial Corporation, the biggest in Cameroon. He worked for C.D.C until his retirement as Director of Production in 1999.

Aside from his day job, his other love was Green Valley Estate, an oil palm plantation & natural mineral water bottling plant he co-owned. Green Valley Estate still runs today and lies at the foot of Mt Etinde (after which is our family home is named, hence the product name). I could go on about our dad, but suffice to say whoever tastes our chilli oils, is sharing in a part of his legacy, his commitment to and love for those he served and cared for. The genesis of Etinde House Chilli Oil was this; each time he visited my sister and myself in the UK, we would ask for dried chilli powder to which he would always respond, he had a better alternative which was not only more versatile & flavourful but also ensured the heat and potency were retained. So he began making and bringing the chilli oil over and it soon became a hit with friends too. As the years went by, he applied his engineer’s mind to refine the local/common recipe to achieve the perfect heat, colour and flavour we have today as Etinde House Chilli Oil. So, something our dad started in 1999 with a home kitchen recipe as a treat for us, is what we have 20 years later, evolved into a branded chilli oil product for more than just us to enjoy! He would have been so chuffed to witness this.

Over the years how have you striven to uphold Dr Tatani’s vision and legacy for the business?

Eh-Co as a brand, which was conceived in 2018, 4 years after our dad’s passing. It’s only a small part of his legacy. His values and vision in life were primarily to attain success through persistence, consistency, humility, smart and hard work. All who knew him can attest to the fact that he employed these values throughout his working life with the C.D.C and in his beloved Green Valley Estate. These principles and values still very much guide us today.

What values are most important to you when manufacturing your sauces, and how do these values guide your choices as a business?

Nutrition, heritage, provenance & sustainability are top of mind when manufacturing our chilli oils. In today's market where the consumer is not only savvy but careful about what they consume – we are absolutely determined to deliver the best for nutrition and provenance by sourcing premium & sustainably grown ingredients, such as Cotswold Gold’s Extra Virgin/Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil, as well Habanero Chilli, Carolina Reaper Chilli, Basil and Rosemary. Added to that, it is particularly important for us to continue having the sense that every consumer of Etinde House Chilli Oil is sharing in a part of our family's history, our dad's legacy and passion for his family. We are pleased to report that the rave reviews from chilli oil/hot sauce/ spicy food lovers and the number of chilli converts, confirm we are delivering this value. That for us, is priceless.

What has been the biggest challenge Eh-Co has faced so far?

The biggest challenge for us has been breaking into the retail via B2B sector. Our products are so well received for their heat, flavour and versatility and we know many hot sauce or chilli oil connoisseurs will give this staple status , but getting them recognised for their value and stocked on the right shelves has been an uphill battle. These challenges are par for the course I suppose, so we are quite appreciative of the strides we’ve made in the short time we’ve been on the market and have taken on the lessons learnt from these challenges. Another challenge has been finding the right suppliers to work with for packaging for our multi-pack products. Thankfully, we have crossed that hurdle and are excited to reveal our brand new multi-pack packaging soon!

What about the biggest achievement?

Our biggest achievement has been getting listed at TheVeganKind Supermarket! It has been a major boost to our business in the wake of the impact of the pandemic and at the same time has provided incredible image and brand endorsement given that we are black owned. We also secured a listing with the Chilli Shop EU in Belgium which is an amazing feat for us.

On your website you mention how purchasing your chilli oils helps raise awareness for prostate cancer in Cameroon - can you give us a bit more information about this?

Our family owns a property along the West Coast of Cameroon, in Batoke (a little town at the foot of Mount Etinde) . It is currently being rented for use as a community clinic. At this facility, we support an initiative to run monthly prostate cancer awareness clinics for men in the local area. Additionally, in the village of Bessi Tibatoh, in the North West Region of Cameroon where my family originally hails from, we are supporting initiatives in health centres to run prostate cancer awareness clinics for men in the surrounding areas. The hope is to be able to collaborate with prostate cancer charities in the Northampton area to secure educational material to share with men at the monthly clinics. In future, we hope to be able to help plans to provide PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) testing at these clinics.

How has the pandemic affected Eh-Co, and do you have any new products or exciting milestones coming up as life starts to return to normal?

In the beginning, it knocked us for six, squandering the plans we had for Q2 of 2020. We soon had a rethink and picked up speed by getting on with other aspects of our growth strategy e.g. building on our social media presence to improve brand strength, entering other marketplaces like Etsy, Shopify & Borough Box. Now we have some very exciting plans for the future! A lot of thought has gone into subtly repositioning our brand to allow us diversify in our product. We are therefore pleased to announce that in the not too distant future, not only will we be including exotic vegan friendly snacks in our product range, but also looking to have a range of vegan friendly chilli sauces and rubs too!

Etinde-House Chilli Oils (Eh-Co) are now available to buy at TVK Supermarket, including delicious flavours like Classic, Basil Infused & Rosemary Infused. You can find more about Eh-Co at @chillioil_ehco on Instagram!