- 17 hours ago
This week on Shop Essence Live in partnership with New Voices Foundation, we feature Berry Bissap founder Akua Netty who created this incredible line of Bissap drinks. Bissap is a refreshing, popular West African spiced hibiscus tea that originated from Senegal, but is now a staple in all of West Africa. Berry Bissap sources their hibiscus and spices straight from Northern Ghana. Watch the video to see the full line of flavors and to hear their inspiring story.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Shop Essence Live. My name is Noni. I'm Vice President of Video here at Essence
00:05and it's Thursday so you know it's time to shop with us here in partnership with the New Voices
00:11family. As usual, we have two incredible small black owned female businesses here for you today.
00:18If you're wondering what I'm wearing today, that's going to be coming up next. But up first,
00:24please, please, if you're watching live, make sure you ask your questions. If you're watching on the
00:28replay, please do make sure that you shop with us as well as our live audience members. Tag someone
00:35if they are a small business owner and they want to potentially be on Shop Essence Live or tag someone
00:42that loves supporting black owned businesses. Up first, we have something really, really special
00:48for you guys and I am personally a fan. These incredible, authentic West African drinks here
00:55for the sophisticated palette. We're going to be joined up first by Acquia Nettie of Berry
01:03Biz App. So I am going to bring Acquia in. I already saw you, girl. I already saw you somewhere
01:08here in the comments. This is Shop Essence Live and remember, and I see love in the dress that is
01:14coming up very shortly. This is Shop Essence Live. So when you support here at Shop Essence Live
01:21and you buy these products, you are buying directly from these small black owned businesses
01:27and you can shop right, right here with us. Acquia, if you are in the comments, please,
01:32please do make sure you request to go live with me. Now, you guys are going to see the New Voices
01:38family in the comments if you're interested, if you have an idea, right? A lot of people,
01:44they will watch this show and it feels so, so far fetched for them to actually be featured on it.
01:48You never know. New Voices is an amazing community where they can actually mentor you
01:54so you can get to the point to be on Shop Essence Live or if you're ready to go, get to the point of
02:00being on here a few weeks from now. You never know. All right, and I see that. Okay, so people are
02:07requesting to go live with me. That is not Acquia. So Berry Biz App, if you guys are in the comments,
02:13please do request to go live. I'm going to pin this beautiful comment here so you guys know
02:20what is happening and everybody that's watching, let me know where you're watching from. We have a
02:25really beautiful and safe community here at Shop Essence Live. We bring you these incredible products
02:30and I see you guys week after week adding it in your cart, adding it to your wish list. So I'd love
02:35to know where you guys are coming from. So we're shopping in partnership with the New Voices family.
02:41And we've had some really great businesses. I have done a live waxing of my arm on this show.
02:49Last week, we had some incredible Afro technology where we showed you how you can deep condition
02:55and detangle all in the palm of your hand with a wand, with the mint, with the ritualist. So really,
03:01really incredible and educational products that we bring you week to week to week. So you guys
03:08continue to stand by as we look for Aquia. New Orleans, I see you, Toronto. Tampa, I see you too.
03:17Hey, hey, hey. And I see, you know, people, I love to be a company featured. Please, please do make
03:23sure. And if you missed it, I see that comment as well. If you missed anything, go to the Essence
03:29Reels on Essence's page. All of our past episodes are there. You can even watch each one and still
03:35shop them today. Okay, Barry Bissup. I see you guys just requested. Stand by. Let me pin this
03:42comment and then we're going to get to shopping because these drinks, let me tell y'all, they are
03:48incredible. And I know that the story is just as incredible as well. Hold on one second. We are
03:56coming for y'all. All right. I see you. Oh, she's coming in and we're going to get to shopping. As you
04:04guys, I've been drinking. I've been drinking. I've been drinking. These products are ready.
04:09Hey, Aquia, how are you? Hello, hello, hello. How are you doing? I am amazing. And how are you?
04:19Doing great. Feeling blessed and honored to be on with Essence and partnership with New Voices
04:25family. This is like, this is an honor. So I can't, I'm just excited. I'm so excited for
04:30you. Okay. So I want to, before we get into these incredible, first of all, I had to fight
04:38my family off. I was like, no, I take these. All right. I need to taste test, but I have
04:43a whole line of people at my house. I'm waiting to taste these incredible flavors that you have,
04:48but I'd love for you to just give us a little bit of background on how you got this business
04:53started. Yeah. So Berry Bisap has been a dream for several, for a long time. I grew up loving
05:02and enjoying this beverage. I'm, I'm a child of Ghanaian immigrants. So my family's from Ghana
05:08and growing up in a Ghanaian home, you know, I grew up loving food, loving our culture, loving
05:14our drinks and, you know, food was big, you know, every flavor was big. And so I watched my
05:20mom make Bisap. And Ghana, we call it Sobolo. So when I did my research and learned about
05:27Bisap and where it comes from, I would, that even intrigued me even more that this has to
05:32be out on the market. And on top of that, you know, it's really about the main ingredient,
05:37which is hibiscus. And, you know, it's a, it's a flower that many people know, don't, but
05:42don't really know the history about it. And it's an African flower that is so rich and
05:48abundant and ingredients and in minerals and vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A, antioxidant
05:55rich, you know, it's just such an amazing flower with amazing benefits that really improves
06:02the lives of all, but just not really consumed in food or drink for the longest time here in
06:09the States. But it's been for centuries in West Africa and, you know, learning about the
06:14history, how it crossed over in the transatlantic slave trade. So that's why you see hibiscus,
06:21you know, in parts of Mexico, where they call it Jamaica and Latin America, and is big in
06:26the Caribbean, they call it sorrel. And so learning about it, I said this, first off, this has to
06:33be on the market. And if, if anybody's going to do it first, it's going to have to be me.
06:39It's going to have to be a black woman. Exactly. Amazing. And, and secondly, we are providing
06:49a beverage that is guilt-free, low in sugar, full of flavor, and you're reaping the benefits
06:56of it. And it's a win-win. It's refreshing. You can have it any time of the day. All ages
07:02can enjoy it. And, you know, we provide, we provide a unique flavor profile of, of tart,
07:09tad bit sweet with a kick of spice. And so it's delicious. And you're, it is whole and
07:15clean ingredients. So yeah, I love that. And if you guys want a really great alternative
07:23for everybody in the house, and she said people of all ages, and I just couldn't wait to give
07:27this to my kids because you see so many, you go down the juice aisle and there's so much
07:32there and it gets overwhelming. And you see all the ingredients. There's such a minimal
07:36amount of ingredients in these drinks. It's so clean. And it's just the flavor profile is
07:42so incredible. I'd love for you. I see people already putting in their cart. Come on, keep
07:47fine, keep fine. We'll already put in the cart. Let's get into some of these flavors. The original,
07:52I already drank like the whole bottle, but let's get into some of these flavors that you have
07:57for us. Yeah. So starting off, I just have one example here with me, but I do is original,
08:03which is mainly the purple. Original really pays homage to the traditional West African drink,
08:09which was founded in the Senegambia empire. So that's modern day Senegal, Gambia, parts of Guinea,
08:17Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and has been a staple throughout the whole region. So we wanted to keep it nice
08:24and simple, use traditional ingredients while drastically lowering the sugar content. And so
08:31yeah, so that's just to pay homage. And then the second flavor we have is mixed berry. So mixed berry
08:37is in the pink bottle. I'm sorry, I don't have the other example.
08:39I have them. Don't worry. Okay. I got you. So yes. So mixed berry is infused, but infused with
08:49three fruits, organic fruits, and that's strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. So you have the
08:57fruity tart, juicy flavor to it, which is also antioxidant packed, antioxidant rich, delicious.
09:06Um, if you like berries, this is it for you. If you want antioxidant overload, mixed berry is for you,
09:14for sure. This is so good. Thank you. And you don't feel like the, the sugar overload from it,
09:22but it has just enough. Just enough. It tastes really, really good. And that was, and that was the
09:29mission. That was the purpose. We wanted the hibiscus and the spices to shine through, you know,
09:35that's why it's tart because you, we want you to experience the hibiscus and tart is good, you know?
09:40Yeah. And the sweetness just to enhance it a little bit, but yeah, that that's why, you know,
09:46we drastically lower the sugar. And you said one of those buzzwords that we all gravitate towards now
09:51is antioxidants. Yeah. Can you just talk a little bit about that and you know, why antioxidants are
09:58important for people to consume? Antioxidants is a key ingredient that it's important for us
10:05because number one, they fight free radicals. So, you know, it's great to boost your immune system
10:11and it, and add in hibiscus actually has tripled than your average, you know, citrus fruit or berries.
10:19So yeah. So antioxidants, fights free radicals, boost your immune system, good for gut health,
10:24so many wonderful things. And we're going to segue to pineapple. So this one is a personal favorite of
10:30mine because yeah, that's right there. So my mom would chop, would chop like pineapple chunks and like,
10:38she would throw it in there and I was like, my favorite too. So good. And I remember, you know,
10:44we would enjoy it. I would cut up pineapple chunks and freeze it. And then like, kind of like pour it
10:49over like frozen pineapple. So I said, this would be a great skew. And you know, pineapples, it's,
10:55you know, we know the benefits of pineapple digestion, great for your skin, great for, you know,
11:00cleansing or releasing toxins. So, you know, pineapple is a great flavor profile. It's fruity,
11:06it's tropical. It's fun. So I do think this is the one that my kids are going to be drinking up in
11:12the house. This one is, it's really, really good. Now you opened up talking about new voices. You are
11:20a part of the new voices family. I'd love for you to just share with the audience what that experience
11:25has been like and what has been a major benefit for you and your business being a part of such a
11:30great community. It's, it's beyond what words. I mean, it's such an honor to be part of the new
11:36voices community, family community, because number one, they focus on women of color, women of color
11:44first, black and brown women first. And, and they, they go out of their way to help black and brown
11:51women and to just be in a community and presence of other women of color doing amazing things,
11:58doing big things in business really motivates you to, you know, go harder and to achieve and to
12:04excel. And the community is amazing because I can reach out to fellow founders and I can reach out to
12:10others, you know, who lead in the community and they give you advice, you know, they really help you
12:16on how to grow and scale your business. You know, I was fortunate to be one of the five founders
12:22to win the, we stand for her grant, which is for food and beverage and partnership with
12:27Barefoot Wines. And that has been amazing. We had like peer coaching, you know, being part of the
12:32food and bath cohort. And it's just, it's an amazing because number one, I admire Richie Lee Dennis and
12:39always wanted to be part of this community and love what he has done and what he's, you know, how
12:45merging Essence and New Voices family. So it's, it's, it means the world to me. And it, it, it shows me
12:52that, okay, there are so many black and brown women like me who are achieving, who are doing big
12:56things, going hard and, um, and paying it forward. So, you know, when we get there, we pay it forward
13:03and yeah, so it's, it's an honor. It's an honor for sure. I love that. And that's, that's such a
13:10running theme week to week. When I talk to, um, businesses that are, are in the New Voices family,
13:15it's having the access. You guys really pull each other up. You're in a community with pinky coal,
13:21of slutty vegan with Melissa from the lip bar with these big brands that are, you know, making
13:28their way up. Pinky is like her company's valued at a hundred million dollars now. And it's like
13:34coming from very humble beginnings till now. So please, if you are watching this and that feels
13:39like, Whoa, that couldn't be me. Yes, it could just take a gamble on yourself. New Voices family,
13:45they're in the comments, letting you know how you can join the new voices. Not only would you get a
13:50chance to be featured on a future episode of shop essence, um, live, but you know,
13:55everything that is available to you, make sure that you check them out. Yeah.
14:00Aquia, you are incredible. I want to remind everyone we're live for a reason. If you have
14:04any questions, please ask the questions. Now we are going to be joined. Everybody's asking about this
14:10dress show. This is a dress from ABL, um, creations and they're coming up, up next. But before we go,
14:19I'd love for you to tell us you had this idea. It's a family tradition. You went from that to now
14:26being a part of new voices family and featured on shop essence live. I know that doesn't come without
14:31setbacks and nose and all of that. If you can give our audience, what has been your, you know,
14:37your why, what has kept you going through all of that? My why is, it is, I'm called to
14:47introduce not just this as just some other drink. There's history, there's roots, there's ancestry
14:53in this beverage, in the flower hibiscus. And it's important to share with the world premium, delicious,
15:01well grown ingredients come from our beautiful continent of Africa. So that's number one for me.
15:09And what keeps me going is that there are, there are black and brown girls who come from humble
15:15beginnings, who feel like they don't know what they're called to do. I was that girl when I was
15:21little. And I felt like I didn't have a calling. And, you know, by God's grace, here I am today.
15:28And it's hard. It's tough. You know, it takes grit, it takes perseverance, it takes faith, crazy faith,
15:35you know, to, to be an entrepreneur and to grow and to thrive. But you know, when, when you're,
15:41when you're hit with setbacks and nose, you keep pushing forward, and you will that you get to the
15:46other side by persevering and pushing forward. And I want to be that example to all black and brown girls,
15:51that if a little girl from the south, Oklahoma can, can, can, can have big dreams and achieve them,
15:59you can too, no matter where you are, no matter where you are.
16:02And Akua, you are exactly that. You are that example. You are incredible. And I cannot wait
16:09to see Barry Bisapp and all the things that you guys do in the future. So good. And thank you guys
16:16for tuning in on the live. Thank you everybody for tuning in on the replay. I am going to stop this
16:22stream and come right back with ABL. And I have more to show you of this outfit. Okay, honey. So coming up,
16:29coming right up. And thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Stay blessed. Have a great night.
16:38Thank you all.
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