Symfonio

What Symfonio does

Symfonio bv is a private Dutch food company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Nijkerk, Netherlands, that sources organic African crops — fonio, baobab, tigernuts, moringa, and dried mango — directly from women-led cooperatives in the Sahel region (notably Burkina Faso) and Tanzania, and distributes them into European specialty and organic retail channels. The company holds EU Novel Food approval for fonio and operates a five-SKU organic ingredient portfolio alongside the Solange's Cuisine consumer sub-brand, which offers ready-to-use fonio mixes such as porridge, pancakes, poke bowl, mafé, and créole blends at solange.bio.

The business runs a hybrid go-to-market: a direct-to-consumer webshop under the Solange's Cuisine brand plus a B2B distribution model through Dutch organic and natural food retailers including Ekoplaza (multiple locations), Odin, De Groene Passage Rotterdam, De Groene Winkel Zeist, Goody Food, Balance Natuurvoeding Eindhoven, and Gimsel Rotterdam, with online availability via De Notenshop, Ekoplaza online, and Odin online delivery. Symfonio also pursues brand-building through trade shows (BIOFACH 2022, Nordic Organic Food Fair 2021), earned media (The Guardian, World Economic Forum, Trouw, Algemeen Dagblad, Radio 1, Biojournaal), and podcast appearances by CEO Solange Domaye.

The company is founder-led and tightly capitalized: it lists 1-10 employees, has no disclosed external funding, and is managed by CEO Solange Domaye alongside founder/advisor Poppe Braam (DID-IT, organic raw materials veteran) and communications consultant Martha Jeuken. Operating geographies include the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the UK, but the named customer base is concentrated in Dutch organic retail.

Name

Symfonio

Legal name

SYMFONIO bv

Website

https://symfonio.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Symfonio is a Dutch organic food company that imports five African crops — fonio, baobab, tigernuts, moringa, and mango — from women-led Sahel-region cooperatives and distributes them through its Solange's Cuisine webshop and Dutch organic retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic African Superfoods

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (42448)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic/International Bulk & Wholesale Grocers (CRAHAMAE)

Keywords

• Organic African foods
• Ancient grains
• Fair trade ingredients
• Functional superfoods
• Specialty organic foods

Headquarters

HQ city

Nijkerk

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (B2C): Direct-to-consumer sales through the Solange's Cuisine branded webshop featuring ready-to-use fonio products including porridge, pancakes mix, poke bowl, mafé mix, and créole mix. Products are pre-cooked and easy to prepare.
2. B2B Ingredient Sales: Bulk and retail sales of organic African ingredients (fonio grain, baobab powder, tigernuts, moringa, dried mango) through organic retail chains and specialty food stores in the Netherlands and Europe.
3. Solange's Cuisine Branded Products: Higher-margin branded ready-to-use fonio products under the Solange's Cuisine label, sold as fusion of innovation and tradition with healthy, easy-to-prepare meal solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Symfonio sources and distributes organic African crops (fonio, baobab, tigernuts, moringa, dried mango) from women cooperatives in the Sahel region, primarily selling them through two channels: a B2B distribution model to organic retail chains in the Netherlands (Ekoplaza, Odin, De Groene Passage), and a B2C webshop under the Solange's Cuisine sub-brand offering pre-cooked, ready-to-use fonio products such as porridge, pancakes, and meal mixes. The company combines a social impact narrative focused on African smallholder farmers and rural women with organic certification and educational content around underutilized African superfoods.

Product overview

Symfonio is an organic African food company that brings authentic African crops to life through a portfolio of five core organic products: Fonio (ancient grain from Burkina Faso), Baobab (fruit powder from the baobab tree), Tigernuts/Chufa (edible root tubers), Moringa (leaf powder from Tanzania), and Mango (dried fruit from Burkina Faso). The company also sells Solange's Cuisine, a consumer sub-brand offering fonio-based ready mixes for porridge, pancakes, and ready meals. All products are sourced from women cooperatives in the Sahel region and are certified organic.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Solange's Cuisine: Consumer-facing brand based on Fonio, offering healthy, easy-to-prepare, flavour and sustainability-focused products. Includes fusion of innovation and tradition in a wide range of delicious, nutritious, and versatile ready mixes for porridge, pancakes, ready meals.

Products and services

• Fonio Organic fonio grain from Burkina Faso and the Sahel region — the oldest cultivated African grain, known for its nutty taste and high nutritional value with essential amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. Supplied as pre-cooked and easy to prepare for use as porridge, couscous, or in various dishes. Sold to organic retail chains and health food stores in Europe.
• Baobab Organic baobab fruit powder made from the dried pulp of the prehistoric baobab tree. Rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber, potassium, calcium, iron, B vitamins, and omega fatty acids. Intended for use in breakfast preparations, smoothies, and yogurt. Sold through organic and specialty food retail channels.
• Tigernuts (Chufa) Organic tigernuts, also known as chufa or earth almond. Edible root tubers that are sustainable, resilient, and nutritious. Can be eaten raw, roasted, or processed into flour, milk, or oil. Free from allergens. Sold to organic retail and specialty food channels.
• Moringa Organic moringa leaf powder from Tanzania. Known as the 'miracle tree,' moringa contains 28% protein with essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Used as a complete dietary supplement in cereals, smoothies, and dishes. Sold via organic retail channels.
• Mango (Dried Organic) Organic dried mango from Burkina Faso, produced in collaboration with the Burkina Dry More project. Contains 20% daily intake of vitamin A, plus vitamins B, D, E, C, minerals (calcium, iron, phosphorus), fiber, and antioxidants. Sold through organic retail and specialty food channels.
• Solange's Cuisine (Consumer Sub-brand) A consumer-facing brand based on fonio, offering healthy, easy-to-prepare ready mixes for porridge, pancakes, ready meals, and versatile fonio-based mixes. Bridges ancient African wisdom with modern living. Sold direct-to-consumer via the solange.bio webshop.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fonio grows in dry areas on sandy soil without fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides and can be harvested after just 6 to 8 weeks
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Burkina Dry More ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the Burkina Dry More project for sourcing organic mango from Burkina Faso. The project trains women in selecting, cleaning, cutting, and drying mangoes. The drying facilities are also used for fonio processing during off-season, creating year-round employment and income for women farmers. This partnership demonstrates the circular economy approach where mango and fonio production complement each other seasonally.
• DID-ITminorOthersDID-IT is the company of co-founder Poppe Braam, who provides support and advice in the field of organics and sustainability. DID-IT is not an independent partnership but represents the advisory involvement of one of the founders.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bob's Red Mill: Bob's Red Mill is a large US-based manufacturer and distributor of organic whole grains, ancient grains, and specialty flours with broad retail penetration. As a broad incumbent in the organic ancient-grain category, it sets the competitive baseline Symfonio must differentiate against in shelf positioning and product format.
• Anthony's Goods: Anthony's is an online-direct incumbent offering a wide range of bulk organic specialty ingredients (including ancient grains and superfood powders) to US and international consumers. It competes with Symfonio's DTC channel on assortment and price in the online organic specialty segment.

Direct peers

• Aduna: Aduna is a UK-based social enterprise that markets African superfoods — notably baobab and moringa — directly to European consumers and retailers, with explicit women-producer sourcing narratives. It directly overlaps Symfonio on product mix, social-impact positioning, and target European retail customers.
• True Moringa: True Moringa sources moringa from West African smallholder farmers for cosmetic and food ingredients. It is directly comparable to Symfonio's moringa product line and shared women-cooperative sourcing model.
• Yolélé Foods: Yolélé is a US-based consumer brand built around fonio as an ancient West African grain, with retail distribution in natural and mainstream channels. It is the most direct fonio-focused peer to Symfonio and competes for the same consumer mindshare around African ancient grains in Western markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/symfonio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/symfonio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Symfonio