Looking for Status? Try Ebony Status

BY DAVID MYLES

With the increasing cost of business rates and the changing demographics of locations across the United Kingdom, many Caribbean and African outlets stocking produce from the tropics have now vanished. Even markets such as Shepherd’s Bush Market and the now deceased Ridley Road Market in Dalston are a shadow of what they once were. Although it is pretty routine to witness a world food section in major supermarkets, there are still many smaller brands and products that are seldom sold at such supermarkets. Consequently, brands that are selling arguably substandard items are capitalizing off of the ‘ethnic’ experience and are able to grow at the demise of authentic products and produce.

Jenny who is a co-founder of the business Ebony Status came into fruition as a result of a void in the market. Her mother who is in her late 80’s avidly brought ‘hard food’ and would commute to various locations throughout London in search of quality produce. On one particular occasion Jenny’s mother had just traveled from East London only to endure the tedious journey of carrying heavy bags full of food. The former primary school teacher offered to help her Mum but could barely manage herself. Disillusioned, yet intrigued by that experience, Jenny began searching online for delivery box companies. To her astonishment, there was no Caribbean delivery produce service actively online. ‘’I don’t mean takeaway shops, my mother likes to cook and be independent so it is the fresh produce that I was looking for’’. After a conversation with her sister and now business partner Lorna, Ebony Status was established. The name was already conceived over seven years ago but only began operating just over two years ago after Jenny and her sister Lorna did some preliminary research with her mum and her mum’s friends to see whether their business endeavors would be feasible. Shortly after Ebony Status began offering their Caribbean box service in March 2017 delivering fresh produce directly to customers’ doors.

Speaking with Jenny, made me question who said that there was a generation gap? The small family run business consists of her sister Lorna, her mother and aunt who are in their 70’s and 80’s alongside her 16-year-old son who is involved in photography and graphic design.

When I asked Jenny what was behind the name Ebony Status she said ‘’We wanted a name that summed up the black community and what we wanted our business to stand for, which is high status’’.  She was keen to declare that they did not want their business being restricted to a particular market so we’re very cautious to refrain from any label that limits the market potential to just solely food or Caribbean food because ‘’many other black people of the diaspora from Nigeria for example also eat similar foods but may use different names to describe our produce, even in the Caribbean, there are variations. People of all nationalities are looking at other diets and lifestyles and seeking food that has not been messed with. So, everyone can benefit from our products. Having a generic brand name can lend itself to other things’’. Fast forward two years later and Ebony Status is looking at other markets such as the hair and beauty products industry and other products that can conveniently come under the umbrella of Ebony Status without distorting its current primary market, their fresh produce.

‘’We want to offer that customer experience by catering to everyone’s needs uniquely’’ says Jenny. One of the ways that Ebony Status is fostering the customer experience is by offering bespoke food boxes giving the customer the autonomy to choose exactly what is included in their food box. Items sold are fresh tropical fruit and vegetables such as yam, sweet potatoes, plantain, green bananas, papaya, manages and seasonings such as jerk seasonings, fish and oxtail seasonings, crackers, hard dough bread, ackee, and callaloo.  Jenny was very proud to declare that they work closely with importers from Jamaica, Barbados, St Lucia, and Grenada, thus helping support the economy of the aforesaid countries.

At present Ebony Status is offering a food delivering service to London and the clusters of the M25; though they do occasionally deliver to Luton, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes. They are also looking to expand to locations that were post-Windrush inhabited such as Birmingham, Manchester, and Bristol.

To make your order please visit: https://www.ebonystatus.com/

Or phone: 07887 895 247 | 07899 808 950