Our Story

 

It starts, like most good things do, at a table.

Long before Succulento was a bottle on a shelf, it was a pot in the kitchen — Nigerian flavours built from scratch, the way they'd always been made, passed down rather than written down. Scotch bonnets and garlic ground by hand. Tomatoes cooked low and slow until they gave up all their sweetness. A pinch of this, a taste, a little more of that. No recipe card. Just instinct, and the memory of what it was supposed to taste like. This brought back memories from Dami's experience supervising his mum's restaurant years back in Nigeria. And Ify when she started her own finger foods business after law school. 

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That's where Dami and Ify started July 2014 — in Aberdeen who'd grown up around food. Ify brought years in industrial farming and a home kitchen full of a blend of recipes from the Eastern and Western part of Nigeria: the techniques, the patience, the flavours that don't shout but linger. While Dami brought the drive to take something personal and share it with people — not water it down, not make it "easier," just make it available to more tables than their own.

Aberdeen was never an accident, being a city widely known for its contribution to the Oil & Gas industry, Dami & Ify sought to make it home due to Nigeria being a major oil and gas player in Africa. They are proud it the journey started in Aberdeen. They wanted to build something rooted, not rootless.

The name says exactly what it means. Succulent — rich, full-flavoured, a little indulgent. That's the standard every bottle and spice has to meet before it earns the label.

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And this has earned Succulento awards by the prestigious Great Taste Awards which has given them the further props signifying quality and taste. Dami and Ify look back and are glad they embarked on this journey. It has taken them from farmers markets, Edinburgh food festival, Taste of Grampian, Farm Shops, TK Maxx, Showcasing Scotland, the Royal Highland Show and many other food events and platforms. The story does not end there.

 

In 2026...

Succulento has also had the opportunity to have pop-up shops at ASDA and it all seems unreal - one taster at a time, one person who didn't expect to like it as much as they did, buying cheerfully and the heartwarming experience of repeat buys within a week at ASDA. Their conversation end with the same line at every event: try it before you judge it. It hasn't failed yet!

 

What's Next

 

Succulento is still, at its core, exactly what it was on day one — the passion and desire by Dami and Ify who believe food should taste great and shouldn't have to compromise. Aberdeen is home. But the plan has always been bigger than one city, one shelf, one country's grocery aisle. And it keeps growing. Every new bottle or spice sold is someone else's kitchen getting a little more interesting. That's the whole business plan, really. 

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Taste where we started. Come along for where we're going. Remember, if it tastes great, it is Succulento...