Akwaaba – Welcome!
Our logo is inspired by the Akwaaba Adinkra symbol which means “welcome” in the Akan language of Ghana.
The connected “O”s symbolize cooperation while the seat represents acceptance and friendliness. It is the foundation of the Flour & Olive identity – our logo is composed of the olive flower and fruit. The olives are the “O”s of connection and cooperation and the flowers seat the world at a single olive oil table.
Akwaaba is a word loaded with meaning that I have heard all my life. The extension of Akwaaba is traditionally followed with a wide smile, the offering of seats and serving of drinks. It is also the word my mother uses when I step off the plane and into her arms in Accra.
It is the symbol of Ghanaian hospitality and evokes acceptance, cooperation, love, warmth and home. It ties beautifully with the olive as a symbol of peace. This connection of Akwaaba with the olive fruit and flower is both backward and forward looking. It pays homage to the rich and meaningful roots of Mediterranean olive oil while embracing the blossoming olive oil production and consumption in new places. We extend a hearty Akwaaba to you and hope that our cake mixes set you on a shared and joyous journey through the world of olive oil cakes.
Share your cake journey!
Estelle Sohne
Growing up a third-generation mixed-race kid in the cosmopolitan city of Accra, Ghana, I never felt I completely belonged to a single place or culture. At our family dining table, we ate food from around the world and my ears were filled with the sounds of English, Ewe, Fanti, French, Ga, German, Hausa and Twi.
Now that I have adopted the United States as my country and have a French husband and bi-lingual, bi-racial, multi-cultural children, I feel even more deeply connected to a growing number of places and cultures. It is from this perspective that I noticed a gap in both the cake mix and olive oil industries and decided to create the cake mixes of my dreams to share with the world – wholesome scratch cake mixes that seat the entire world at one olive oil table.
Our delicious cakes are designed to evoke natural beauty and the tastes and smells of the countries they are from, with a twist of artistic license. It is my hope that our cake mixes inspire feelings of home, nostalgia and wanderlust.
Enjoy your cake journey!
We invite you to explore our world of olive oil cakes.
Whether from Australia, Brazil, China, Italy, Jordan, South Africa or the United States, olive oil, like coffee and wine, is rooted in “terroir” which literally means earth or land.
Our cakes were developed with this growing global olive oil connection in mind. It is the unifying ingredient across our cakes, seating the world in its splendid diversity at one olive oil table.
We took great care in developing our recipes to incorporate, as much as possible, specialty ingredients and baking traditions unique to each country. We hope that the cake-making process from purchasing the ingredients, to choosing an extra virgin olive oil and smelling and tasting the cakes will evoke the experience of the country the cake is from.
Natural Beauty
Our cakes were crafted to not only taste delicious and evoke terroir, but to look beautiful even when completely naked. We tested our flagship cakes countless times to achieve the optimal taste and beauty. We know how finicky baking can be and that small changes can affect the outcome of your cake.
Even in those circumstances, the cakes can still look simple and beautiful whether decorated with fresh flowers or leaves or dusted with powdered sugar.
Everyday Luxury
Our four premium cake mixes produce international cakes that are delicious, naturally beautiful and designed to be baked with extra-virgin olive oil. These cakes are a simple luxury that we hope will become a staple in your home.