Chilli Mash, a UK-based chili sauce producer with roots in Rwanda, has secured a major export deal worth £11 million (approximately Rwf18.5 billion) over the next five years with Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize.
The company, co-founded by Rwandan entrepreneur Stephanie Kayirangwa and her British husband Natt Boarer, was born out of a shared love for Rwandan flavors and a vision to create a global food business grounded in African ingredients.
They met in Rwanda and launched Chilli Mash in 2016 with the goal of using traditional fermentation techniques to create premium chili sauces for both African and European markets.
Now, nearly a decade later, their dream is bearing fruit. Chilli Mash has already shipped 150,000 bottles of sauce in six different varieties to Delhaize stores across Belgium. In March, the couple visited five outlets to see their products on the shelves.
The deal represents a major milestone for the company, which currently generates £2 million in annual revenue. Boarer noted that exporting has become more attractive than relying on UK supermarkets, which often demand lower pricing.
In export, supermarkets are not as mercenary with their pricing arrangements,”** he said, highlighting that international contracts tend to offer better terms—even after factoring in post-Brexit shipping and paperwork challenges.
At the heart of Chilli Mash’s operation is the traditional Rwandan technique of fermenting chillies in salt for six weeks to two years. The resulting mash forms the base of the company’s sauces, which are now gaining traction across Europe.
Thanks to their innovative model, Chilli Mash has been able to part-process ingredients like chillies in Rwanda before shipping the fermented mash by sea to their Portsmouth facility in the UK. This method not only lowers costs and emissions but also boosts job creation—25 jobs in Rwanda and 15 in the UK.
Chilli Mash’s export success has been supported by several UK government initiatives. The Department for Business & Trade (DBT) provided crucial help with post-Brexit paperwork, while trade adviser Paul Abley connected the team with experts like Martina Blackman Andersen, a food export specialist at the British Embassy in Belgium.
The company also joined the **Manufacturing Africa programme, run by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), which supports businesses producing goods in Africa for global export. This partnership has been key to Chilli Mash’s ability to grow operations in Rwanda.
Looking ahead, the company is aiming to expand into new European markets such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands. It’s also eyeing opportunities in Asia and the Middle East, including Thailand and Dubai.
“Our dream was always to create something that brings Rwanda to the world—through flavor, through culture, and through business,” Kayirangwa said.
