Chibu Akukwe on Building a Premium Luxury Brand in Africa

Ògógóró, also known as kai kai, akpuru-achia or Sapele water, is an indigenous spirit made from distilled palm wine once banned during British colonial times. But after decades of suppression, the once-taboo drink is back in fashion, consumed by tastemakers and business leaders across Africa and the diaspora. But how did a drink once seen as provincial become the darling of the continent’s trendsetters? Micro-distilled in small batches and handcrafted in Nigeria, Pedro’s began in the tropics of Delta State and was meticulously refined and perfected in Lagos by a renowned master distiller. Pedro’s fuses natural distillation techniques with a new African narrative to reinvent the original spirit of the continent. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to entrepreneur Chibu Akukwe, co-founder of Pedro’s, about how he and co-founder Lola Pedro are building a proudly Nigerian brand using indigenous ingredients. Since launching in 2017, the brand is now stocked from London to Lagos, Nairobi and soon New York.