Our story ታሪካችን

to tell the story of brundo, we have to begin with cafe colucci.

Ethiopian born and raised, Fetlework created the small family-owned restaurant in 1991 Berkeley with the hope of serving and educating her community about the beauty of East African cuisine. She had been running an Afrocentric night club booking bands from across the continent. The restaurant captured hearts throughout the local community and took her full attention. As the awards stacked, she began running into issues consistently sourcing high quality, authentic spices (an integral part of Ethiopian cooking), namely because a robust supply chain did not exist. Fetlework decided to take control of our supply chain, returned to Ethiopia and established a small-scale spice production facility in Modjo, a village a few hours from the capital.

What didn’t go to the restaurant, we began to sell. There was little to no visibility of the flavors that came out of the Continent, but as the global appetite for these spices grew, so did our mission. We invested more of our time into growing Brundo, developing relationships with local farmers in Modjo, importing products to Oakland, and, eventually, sharing the beloved and traditional Ethiopian pantry and flavors with the world.

Cheers,

The Brundo Team

ከባህል ሥር Shaping Black Female History

Fetlework Tefferi was voted Miss Black Emphasis 1976-77 and has since been honored as Black Women in Food trailblazer, 2024! As Fetlework’s legacy of food and beverage businesses have established success and earned over 25 awards (including Michelin recognition!), she continually reinvests in both Oakland and Modjo, Ethiopia to create more equity and opportunities within her communities, by building or contributing to sustainable systems. She will continue her work locally and internationally to expand food sovereignty, culture and celebration of Black and African flavors.

ታሪካችን OUR HISTORY

Our founder, Fetlework age 16 at school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Fettlework recognized as Miss Black Essence, 1976

Our roots. A vintage poster for our roots, Chibbo, an Afrocentric night club, bar & grill.

Putting the family in family business. Colucci, 1991

Colucci’s anniversary party. 90’s baby.

Fettlework happily greeting customers in the early 2000s.

Cooking with Michelin chefs.

It’s official! Cafe Colucci gets Michelin recognition.

Opening the plant in Modjo, Ethiopia, 2011

Our founder, Fettlework Tefferi honored as Black Women in Food trailblazer, 2024

Behind the scenes in Ethiopia

We import our sustainably grown, traditionally processed, heirloom herbs & spices directly from our processing facility in Modjo, Ethiopia. Our economics are sustainable too. The team is 85% women and all our jobs are year round, stable & equitable.

እምነታችን Our Values

sustainability & transparency

All of our products are naturally processed and sun-dried without any added chemicals or preservatives, using drying beds and the Ethiopian sun. We document the entire importing process, from harvest to repacking, and perform microbiology testing on each shipment to track biodata.

empowerment & giving back

We consider ourselves a company both founded by and powered by women. ~85% of our team in Modjo is women, and we work to funnel money back into the local economy at every opportunity. We’ve established scholarship program to send kids in need to school and provide all the necessary add-ons.

actionable change

We believe in fair and transparent spice businesses, rooted in equity, sustainability, and mindfulness, owned and operated by the communities to which that culture and history belongs. We have established operations that make it possible for farmers to autonomously produce at scale and bolster their local economies for years to come