Jibiscus: A Spirit of Celebration
Birama Sarr is the founder of Jibiscus (Global 2F), a family-owned business based in Lyon, France, dedicated to bringing the traditional Senegalese hibiscus drink, bissap, to a wider audience. Established in 2017, Jibiscus embodies a spirit of celebration and sharing while prioritizing sustainable agriculture and ethical sourcing. With a growing presence in restaurants, bars, and specialty stores, the brand continues to expand, offering a refreshing and natural beverage crafted with care from hand-harvested hibiscus flowers. DeliveryRank finds out more.
Your hibiscus infusion is inspired by the traditional "bissap" drink popular in Africa. Could you elaborate on how this cultural heritage influenced your recipe and the importance of bringing this tradition to a broader audience?
From the very beginning, our goal was not simply to replicate the traditional West African drink. Instead, we aimed to create a beverage that was 100% natural and truly healthy. We took inspiration from the original recipe, incorporating certain elements while adapting others to align with our vision. For example, in Africa, this drink is typically made with a significant amount of sugar, but we wanted to take a different approach. Rather than copying the traditional formula, we focused on refining it to better suit the European market while staying true to our commitment to health and natural ingredients. From the outset, our primary objective has always been to offer a beverage that is both nutritious and wholesome.
Jibiscus highlights the natural richness of hibiscus in vitamin C and antioxidants. Can you discuss the specific health benefits associated with consuming hibiscus and how your product leverages these properties?
We are well aware of the many benefits of hibiscus. However, due to legal restrictions in France, we are not permitted to explicitly highlight these benefits on our packaging or website without specific authorization. That said, hibiscus is widely recognized for its rich antioxidant properties and has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, particularly in Africa and other southern regions. It is known to support digestive health, promote healthy skin, and serve as a natural source of vitamin C.
From the very beginning, we carefully chose hibiscus for our drink, fully understanding its incredible qualities. However, while we cannot prominently advertise its health benefits due to regulatory constraints, we strive to subtly convey the natural goodness it offers. Ultimately, our goal has always been to create a beverage that is both natural and healthy, even if we cannot explicitly emphasize these attributes.
The recipe for Jibiscus includes a delicate blend of hibiscus flowers, mint, and cane sugar, without additives or preservatives. What challenges did you face in developing this recipe to ensure both flavor authenticity and product shelf-life?
Our biggest challenge, in the beginning, was managing costs. When we first calculated the production expenses, we quickly realized that they were far higher than expected, which posed a significant hurdle for us as a company. Initially, we focused on making the drink in a traditional, handcrafted way. However, the next major challenge was transitioning from this manual process to industrial production—finding the right supplier, securing the necessary equipment, and ensuring that the final product maintained the quality and essence we envisioned.
As we searched for a manufacturing partner, we encountered difficulties, particularly in France, where most companies we approached faced the same cost-related issues. Fortunately, we learned about a company in Spain that seemed like a promising fit. After initiating discussions and sharing our formulation and expectations, they conducted several test batches. The first few attempts didn’t quite match our vision in terms of taste and quality, but after three or four trials, we finally achieved the perfect result. Since then, we’ve been working with this company for several years.
Ultimately, our two biggest challenges were managing costs and successfully scaling production while maintaining the integrity of our drink.
Jibiscus is already appreciated by a wide clientele in about forty establishments across France. How has the market responded to your product, and what strategies have you employed to achieve this level of distribution and customer acceptance?
We know that the market truly appreciates our drink—far more than we initially expected. A couple of years ago, even before officially launching the company, we conducted a marketing test similar to what many companies do. Over the course of several months, we had 1,200 people from diverse backgrounds, social groups, and age ranges try our product. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with a 95% approval rate. This result reassured us that we were on the right track, though it wasn’t entirely surprising—after all, the goal of creating a product like this is to reach as many people as possible and make it widely appreciated.
One interesting factor we noticed was that product familiarity varied by country. In France, for example, many people were already familiar with this type of drink due to historical ties with Senegal. However, in the UK, where West Africa had a different historical relationship, awareness of the product was lower. So while we are confident that the market enjoys the drink, the biggest challenge we face now is increasing brand recognition. Many people are still unfamiliar with our company and the product itself.
Over the past few years, we have been working hard to boost visibility, leveraging social media, participating in events, and exploring different ways to introduce our drink to a wider audience. The demand and appreciation are there—it’s now a matter of making people aware of it.
With the growing consumer interest in sustainable and ethical sourcing, can you share insights into how you source your hibiscus flowers and other ingredients? What measures do you take to ensure sustainability and support for the communities involved in your supply chain?
The second part of this question is extremely important to us because it is central to our business model. The hibiscus flowers we use primarily come from West Africa, particularly Senegal. However, maintaining a stable supply chain in Africa can be challenging, as many products are not industrially processed there. This is why we source our hibiscus flowers from multiple suppliers.
From the very beginning, we have been committed to creating a fair, mutually beneficial relationship with our suppliers in Africa. This is crucial because the pricing structure there is vastly different from that in Europe. Often, we negotiate directly with farmers and farmer-managed companies, ensuring that our partnerships are built on equity and fairness. Our goal is to uphold a "win-win" model that supports both our business and the communities we work with.
A key part of our vision is to eventually establish our own agricultural operations. We are exploring the possibility of using our own land and forming direct contracts with local farmers to cultivate hibiscus flowers. This would allow us to ensure full organic certification for all our ingredients, which is a fundamental priority for us. Today, we maintain a strong personal connection with our suppliers, regularly traveling to Africa to meet, negotiate, and collaborate with them. Strengthening these relationships remains a core focus for us.
Beyond the drink itself, our long-term vision is much larger. While our company started with hibiscus-based beverages, our ambition is to introduce more West African products to the European market. This is not just about business—it is about cultural exchange. Having grown up in Senegal before moving to France more than 40 years ago, I see this as a way to bridge cultures, sharing the rich and diverse traditions of African food and drink with a wider audience.
Looking ahead, we plan to expand our product range beyond hibiscus drinks. West Africa is home to many unique and healthful beverages that remain largely unknown in Europe. We believe that by bringing these traditional drinks to new markets, we are not only offering something delicious and nutritious but also fostering a deeper appreciation for African culinary heritage. Our company’s journey began with hibiscus, but this is only the beginning of a much larger vision.
If you would like to find out more about Jibiscus, please visit https://www.jibiscus.fr/