For starters, grazing is an eating pattern in which many meals are consumed throughout the day.
For example, instead of eating breakfast, lunch, and supper, individuals snack throughout the day on a variety of nutritious meals.
Ann Wanyoike noted in an interview that her business grew out of her passion for wine, cured meat, and cheese.
She recalls that her interest in these dishes began in 2003, when she had just finished her university studies.
She used to work for a wine firm and had the opportunity to learn about the wine and cheese combination.
Wanyoike would bring several sorts of cured specialty meats and gourmet cheeses, accompanied by a range of other goodies.
She retired in 2019. A year later, her brother started a new firm introducing wines from Australia, and she joined as a marketer for the new products.
“This required being inventive. I drew from previous experience. My creativity came in the form of cheese and meat pairings for wine-tasting events in Nairobi,” she explained.
After retiring from her aviation career, Wanyoike was eager to try something new and pursue her passion. It was then that the concept of Amazing Graze Kenya emerged.
Her breakthrough came when she proposed a feeding table to a client who had asked her brother to arrange a wine tasting for his family.
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Wanyoike joked that she depended on Pinterest at the time to create the ultimate snacking table.
“I felt both excited and afraid at the same time. But when it all came together, I was amazed by my own inventiveness. “Most people ask me where I learned to do this, and I tell them it was at the ‘University of Pinterest,'” she said.
Following the first order, she opted to focus solely on charcuterie and grazing.
“Since that first order, I’ve been absorbed in the world of charcuterie and grazing, which is also a new and rising business in the Western world. Grazing tables, grazing boards, charcuterie boards, among others are some of the names you will hear from us,” she told me.
While the snacking table offers cheeses, small salads, fruit, lean meats, and nuts, a charcuterie board mostly comprises meats and cheese.
“A classic charcuterie board is simply a meat platter. The term ‘charcuterie’ was used to describe shops in 15th-century France that sold pork products,” she explained.
While conceding that her firm is rapidly expanding, she acknowledges that educating people about the products is proving difficult.
“Most of our efforts have been directed toward marketing campaigns and promotions. We are an online business, and social media has been our main driver, as well as marketing through social media influencers,” she added.
