Emily Avonya Jefferson was once hospitalized for days following an allergic reaction to a medication that could’ve ended her life at the age of 16. Fast-forward to age 23 and she is now the founder of Avonya’s Blends, a Black-owned company that focuses on food seasonings that are all-natural and low-sodium without the presence of any artificial preservatives and anti-caking agents.
What was meant to break this woman just helped her to be able to save the lives of others one seasoning at a time.
Continuing The Legacy
According to the company’s website, the two signature seasoning blends curated by the company are named in honor of Emily’s grandmother, Annie Mae Carlton and her father, James “Sentry” Dixon.
“I created this company as a way to share my love of cooking with others,” said Emily via the company website. “I wanted to provide people with delicious, high-quality seasoning blends with no extra fillers and no artificial preservatives.”
As a commercial fisherman, Emily’s father loved all things seafood and was quite the cook. On the contrary, her grandmother would use season-all for every dish that she made. Thanks to their love for food, Emily quickly found a passion for cooking and has now turned the legacy of both relatives into one of the core values of her company.
A Passion For Cooking
Building on her love of passion and being subject to food allergies, particularly rosemary, Emily created Avonya Blends to help others bring their dishes to life without having to compromise flavor in the process.
“I have food allergies, especially to rosemary and I realized that a lot of seasoning companies do not list all of their ingredients on their labels, they just say “spices,” Emily continued in an open letter on the site. “This was concerning as it limited me on what I could use as I didn’t know what was in it and I have even had reactions to some seasonings as well.”
Click here to learn more on how to grab Avonya Blends’ all-natural, vegan, gluten-free seasoning blends.
