Temitope (Temi) Ajayi-Salami, owner of Fife’s first Afro-Caribbean grocery store AYT Foods, has earnt a place in this year’s ‘SmallBiz 100’ line up of the UK’s most inspiring entrepreneurs, hosted by the Small Business Saturday campaign.
The campaign celebrates the UK’s much-loved small businesses and encourages the nation to show their support.
AYT Foods offers authentic groceries and household essentials both in-store and online. It stocks cultural ingredients such as yam, plantain and dried fish, but Temi remembers when getting those same ingredients meant 60-mile round trips or waiting for online orders to arrive.
Determined to change that experience not just for herself but for others, Temi opened her business in Dunfermline in December 2023.
”More people deserve to see themselves reflected in everyday places around them,” Temi tells Convenience Store.
“The store was important because there was simply nothing like this here. For many families, finding cultural familiar food meant travelling as far as Edinburgh or Glasgow.”
The store has grown into a cultural hub, connecting people through food and shared experiences.
“It doesn’t just serve as a grocery store, it serves as the cultural hub for people in our community,” she says. “It opens others to explore and learn from different backgrounds and they’re curious about the product. They just come and ask questions and even go as far as going to my website to find some recipes to explore.”
Beyond the store, selfless Temi runs a self-funded culturally sensitive food bank for struggling families. “We created a culturally sensitive food bank because most of the food banks here serve regular foods. When I got here, the food bank helped, but my kids had trouble adapting to some of the food,” she says.
“The AYT Food Bank started because we saw a real need in our community. It’s for struggling families who are yet to find their feet in the new ground they have found.
“We support around 16 families. We’re not just offering food but also a sense of understanding and dignity.”
Commenting on Temi’s national recognition, director of Small Business Saturday Michelle Ovens says: “Small businesses are the nation’s favourite businesses - bringing immeasurable value to our local communities and powering the wider economy.
“Firms like AYT Foods represent some of the UK’s most-loved small businesses. It is so important that we encourage public support for small businesses up and down the country, as many are still facing a host of challenges as they enter this critical final stretch of the year.”
A journey that started with a desire to bring culturally familiar food to her community has grown into something “far more meaningful”, says Temi.
”Campaigns like Small Business Saturday remind us that even the smallest businesses have big stories and even bigger impact,” she adds.
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