What started off as a Saturday morning hobby between a father and his sons, slowly marinated into AYOBA!
Who we are:
South Africans love their Biltong! This is certainly true of every one of the van Blommestein Family. It is in our blood, along with the sounds, smells, colors and vibrancy of South Africa. We have lived in the US for almost 20 years now and have found replacements for most of the things we love, however, we could not live without our beloved meat.
We missed our Biltong and Droewors so much that we put our South African resourcefulness and creativity to work, dusted off the family recipe book, and got to work making our own Biltong and Droëwors. We subjected our friends and family to taste-testing (they certainly weren't complaining), and after some minor tweaking of the recipes, we ended up with the deliciousness that you can experience today! We continue to craft special limited release flavors, like our Rosemary Truffle Biltong (which won a sofi™ award before becoming a permanent flavor), and have a lot more unique flavors to come!
GIVING BACK:
We care about our community. The DC Metro area is one of the most diverse melting pots in the USA and has directly contributed to our growth. As a thank you we donate a portion of our profits to Martha's Table and Capital Area Food Bank, who in turn provide healthy food, affordable clothing, and quality education to the less fortunate in our area. That's Ayoba! Every purchase on our website and in-store indirectly helps a child and/or parent in need. If you feel so moved, please take it upon yourself to visit their website, donate directly to them, or volunteer in one of their soup kitchens or food truck.
In 2020 we were lucky enough to be able to donate over 8,000 bags of Biltong & Droëwors (including a partnership with Feeding America and Roc Nation, goPuff, Weight Watchers & more). Our goal is to do even more in 2021!
Some Of Our Favorite Memories:
Our First Drying Box
From drying Biltong and Droëwors in this "state-of-the-art" box (built by dad), to filling entire rooms in an actual-state-of-the-art USDA facility. (We sometimes still use this original box for special R&D)
Our First Delivery Van
We were originally named "Ayoba-Yo" before dropping the "-Yo" and becoming AYOBA! This was our first van that we used to deliver to local grocery stores in the DMV!
Team Efforts
We really owe a special thank you to all of our local friends who continue to pitch in and help our small business whenever needed! Here's a few helpers at a Brew Fest in 2018.
