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Afrofusion bringing African culture into Orangeville

March 25, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

As the population in Orangeville has become more diverse, so has its business community.

Over the last year, many new multicultural businesses have opened their doors locally, including AfroFusion Market (306 Broadway, Unit #1), which is dedicated to providing diverse authentic African groceries, hair, and beauty products.

Last August the business opened its doors officially and its owner, Sandra Koufie who was born in Ghana, said it’s helping to bridge the gap and bring a little bit of African culture into Orangeville.

“Initially, the thought behind it was, there wasn’t a lot of diverse or multicultural stuff here,” Koufie noted.

The business evolved into a storefront naturally, for a few years prior Koufie was taking orders from the ethnic community in Orangeville and then going down to Brampton or Toronto to pick the products up.

“Eventually I was just like, ‘oh, I can’t keep doing this by going back and forth,’ so I thought it’d be best just to offer this stuff in a store,” she explained.

On the grocery side, Afrofusion carries canned vegetables, fruits and beans, fresh produce, baking essentials, beverages, spices, seasonings, sauces, grains, flour, and cereal.  In addition,  hair care and beauty products, and footwear accessories are available at the store as well.

Through the store, Koufie says she’s trying to create a community atmosphere where everyone feels like they’re at home. A place where people can come and talk about their day.

She told the Citizen that it’s important to note that the store is for everyone, not just individuals who are of African or Caribbean descent.

“If you want to know about the culture or if you want to know about the food, you can always find Afrofusion to be a place to learn about culture diversity,” said Koufie.

So far, the support from the community has been very positive overall. Koufie says she’s hoping to ramp up the curbside pickup for customers going forward.

“I just want to thank the town because initially like just starting a business and everything, the town was really helpful in knowing where to go, how to do things, all while we’re in this trying time, and they’re still trying to check up and make sure that things are going well,” she explained. “I really appreciate everyone pitching in to help this shop, it takes a village, right.”

To see everything Afrofusion has to offer visit https://afrofusionmarket.com/.

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