About Watamu Foods
Watamu Foods (Panafrica Foods Distributors Inc., DBA Watamu Foods) is a wholesale importer and distributor of African and international food products, based in New Albany, Indiana, across the river from Louisville.
Our story
Watamu Foods was founded in 2019 in New Albany, Indiana. The aim was to fix a problem that African grocery stores and restaurants across the US knew well: the foods their customers grew up with were hard to find consistently. When they did arrive, it was often through several middlemen, with no clear origin or dates.
So we went to the source. We buy directly from producers in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Republic of the Congo. We built the warehouse, frozen storage and ordering systems needed to deliver those products reliably, by the case, the pallet or the truckload, to all 50 states. Today our range covers more than 500 products, including our own Watamu brand.
Our name comes from Watamu, a town on the coast of Kenya known for its markets and its food. It is a reminder that what we carry is part of how families cook and gather, wherever they live now.
What we do
Import
We source from producers and exporters in East and Central Africa and handle the import process into the US, including labelling for the US market.
Store
Our New Albany warehouse holds ambient, chilled and frozen stock, batch-tracked by expiry date.
Distribute
We sell by the case, the pallet and the truckload, for pickup or delivery to all 50 states.
Support
Customers order through an online account, by phone or on WhatsApp, and receive quotes, invoices and delivery notes from one system.
How we work
Know the product
We stock what we can stand behind and tell customers exactly what is in each case.
Keep promises small and keep them
Clear lead times, clear minimums, clear invoices.
Build for the long run
Most of our customers are independent businesses. We want them ordering from us for years, not once.
Our mission: to make the foods of East and Central Africa easy for American businesses to stock, through reliable supply, honest pricing and lasting relationships with producers.
Warehouse and pickup: 331 Park E Blvd, New Albany, IN 47150 · Mon to Fri 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern, Saturday by appointment
Work with us
Open a wholesale account, or talk to our team about what your business needs.