Those who haven’t tried sauces from The Saucy African before might still glean familiarity in the flavors.
The Pittsburgh-based food brand — which offers African-inspired simmer sauces, spices and seasonings — occupies an interesting niche. It’s a novel concept rooted in some of the world’s oldest culinary traditions.
“This is a new product,” said founder Dr. Janet Digber-Williams, who started the company in 2024 with her husband, James Digber. “People know Italian food, Mexican food and Asian food, but African food seems to be in a vacuum.”
That unfamiliarity is part of what The Saucy African hopes to change. Digber-Williams explained that many traditional cooking methods and flavor profiles, especially in Caribbean and Mexican foods, trace back to African roots.
“Our goal is to demystify all of that and bring it to people,” she said.
The Saucy African’s flagship product — a chicken tomato simmer sauce — offers flavors well-known to American palates: tomato, garlic, onions and seasonings comparable to marinara or sofrito. But the sauce develops into something more layered with curry and warming African spices that are piquant and flavorful without too much kick. The most common question they get, said Digber-Williams, is how spicy is the sauce?
“Our goal is heat and flavor, not burn and hurt,” she said. “So it starts from the back of your tongue and moves toward the front. By the time the sauce finishes its course in your mouth, you’ve experienced a full range of ‘Ooh.’ ”
Drawing from traditions of slow-cooked stews, the sauces are designed to replicate hours of simmered flavor in a ready-to-use jarred product.
“The depth of simmer without the time that comes with simmer,” Digber-Williams said.
The sauces can be added directly to dishes like rice or chicken or used in pasta sauces, pizzas, chilis and soups. Digber-Williams recently demonstrated the sauce in a five-minute shakshouka (poached eggs).
A vegetarian simmer sauce offers a slightly sweeter variation featuring green bell peppers, while The Saucy African’s pepper heat spice blend caters to folks looking for more intensity. Made with African Bird’s Eye chili pepper (also known as piri piri), the blend can be mixed into simmer sauces to raise heat levels or sprinkled over dishes from tacos and pizza to steak.
That versatility is by design, and central to the company’s mission, which the Digbers imagine as more than a food brand.
“It’s a flavor movement,” Digber-Williams said. “Our mission is simple: African flavors are delicious. I think everybody deserves to experience them. Our goal is to be a staple in everybody’s cabinet.”
The Saucy African didn’t start with such lofty ambitions. Instead it was a quick way for Digber-Williams — who’s also a pediatrician at UPMC Children’s Hospital — to cook while starting out as a doctor. She began using the chicken simmer sauce to cook and freeze meals in batches.
“There’s also limited opportunities for African food here in the Pittsburgh area,” Digber-Williams said, something difficult when moving from a larger city. She noticed medical residents at UPMC also missed the comfort food they grew up with. “I would make food for them just so they don’t feel lonely.”
The cooking grew from making food for friends and coworkers to potlucks for the Digbers’ church community, where they met and married eight years ago. Eventually, Digber-Williams pitched the sauces as a business idea to her husband.
“I’ve been married long enough to know that she comes up with these ideas,” Digber said. “When I heard the thought she’d put into it, I (said), You know what? Let’s explore it.”
The couple partnered with Punxsutawney-based Stello Foods to manufacture their first sauces and initially sold products online through Amazon. In the company’s first year, Digber — whom his wife describes as a consummate salesman — even sold jars while driving for Uber on the side.
Recently, Digber-Williams mentioned her side business to a fellow doctor at the hospital.
“And she (said), hold on, you don’t happen to have a husband who drives Uber?” Digber-Williams said, laughing. “I said, ‘I’m assuming he sold you a jar of sauce.’ ”
“Interest completely shot up” when Digber began selling the products and making connections at local farmers markets.
While the Digbers initially expected their audience to be members of the African diaspora, they soon realized how far their appeal extended amidst Pittsburgh’s growing food scene.
“People are exploring foods. They are trying all kinds of things,” Digber said. “So we actually began to see the market of more Caucasian and more mixed families — people from all walks of life wanting to try African food. Our demographic has dramatically changed from just the African diaspora to everybody.”
A successful round of Honeycomb fundraising allowed Digber to work for The Saucy African full-time, help expand production, and move the company into a dedicated workspace.
Today, the sauces are still sold at local farmers markets and regional retailers including Atobabs African International Market in East Pittsburgh, Salem’s Market and Grill in Pittsburgh’s Strip District and the newly opened Mayfly Market and Deli on the North Side, along with locations in the North Hills, South Hills and Washington County.
At Dylamato’s Market in Hazelwood, the sauces have found a following, with regular customers stopping in to buy jars for making Jollof rice.
“We had the good experience of having James (Digber) just walk into the store and say, ‘I have this product,’” owner Dianne Shenk said.
Through The Saucy African ships nationwide, Shenk saw the brand as a natural fit alongside Dylamato’s selection of mostly locally sourced products. She also credited the company’s presentation and marketing — including recipe cards that help introduce customers to new flavors and dishes.
“It’s not hard to get somebody interested, because someone has done the work to make it an interesting product,” Shenk said.
Shenk even tested one of the simmer sauces herself in a goat curry stew.
“It has its own special added flavor that I couldn’t come up with, and they’ve distilled it and bottled it,” she said.
The Saucy African’s goal now, Digber-Williams said, is to keep the business growing while remaining sustainable.
“We are here to stay, and we are grateful for Pittsburgh,” she said.
