Meet our team
We’re a bunch of herb-loving radicals working in Ethiopia and the UK. Five years ago we started designing a circular way of growing herbs (plus fruits and veggies) in the Ethiopian highlands. Then in 2018 we realized, “Whoa. We’ve got some flavour-packed herbs here. We need to share them.”
So, we recruited more partner farmers, planted more herbs, built a herb drying room, and designed a brand. We dubbed it Kib, Amharic for “circle,” and in 2020 we started putting Kib in your cups.
From seed to field to cup, meet the folks who make Kib go ‘round.

Kib favourite:
chamomile, lemon balm, lavender
Jacie JonesManaging Director, The Perennial Foods Group
Jacie is passionate about leveraging enterprise to drive sustainable development. She is the Managing Director for The Perennial Foods Group (PFG), which includes Kib and its sister fresh produce brand, GreenPath Food.
Prior to PFG, Jacie advised teams founding early-stage social ventures in the San Francisco Bay Area and supported a portfolio of market-based agriculture and enterprise development programs across East Africa with TechnoServe.
Before migrating to warmer climates, she grew up on a family farm in northern Wisconsin, USA. She loves running, travelling, and all things tea and coffee.

Kib favourite:
cinnamon, cardamom, cloves
Andrew WeilerCommercial Manager
Andrew is passionate about helping farmers and providing nutritious, sustainable food to people worldwide. He’s led Kib from an idea in 2018 to launch in late 2020. He now looks after our herbs from the time they’re dried in Ethiopia to when they’re in cups in England.
He hails from Minnesota, USA, and his passion for agriculture stems from years of visiting grandparents’, aunts’, and uncles’ farms in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Outside work, Andrew loves basketball, running, cooking, and reading.

Kib favourite:
mint, lemongrass, moringa
Evie WaxmanSales & Marketing Manager
Evie loves getting great food & beverage brands into the hands of British consumers. She’s based in London and oversees all things sales and marketing for Kib.
Before joining the Kib team, Evie founded and led her own vegan and free-from snacks brand, Raw Bake Station. She led the company from a passion project to being stocked in WH Smith, Planet Organic and other UK grocers.
Hailing from Manchester, Evie loves to run and practice yoga.

Kib favourite:
cinnamon, cardamom, cloves
Getu GudetaSenior Production Manager
Getu is passionate about connecting smallholder farmers to international markets. He oversees farm production and operations in Butajira, including coaching and training farmers and staff.
Getu has over 12 years of experience in training smallholder farmers to grow high-value crops for export.
Having grown up in the highlands of the Bale Mountains in southeastern Ethiopia, Getu is a die-hard mountain trekker. He also loves swimming and reading.

Kib favourite:
hibiscus, tulsi, elderberry
Bobbie GarbuttSales & Marketing Associate
Bobbie sees every day as a new opportunity to bring better products into the world that benefit both people and planet equally. She works on sales & marketing across both Kib and its sister brand, GreenPath Food. She tells Kib’s story on social media and in our newsletter.
Bobbie has a wealth of food & beverage experience, from food photography to recipe development. Her love for all things food & drink has its roots in her childhood in Grenada, growing up on her family’s cocoa farm.

Kib favourite:
mint, lemongrass, moringa
Gudina KumsaSenior Herb Drying Officer
Gudina is motivated by seeing Kib grow and helping to build the Kib team in Butajira, Ethiopia. Gudina joined Kib in 2018 and has led all things herb drying ever since. He manages the team that cuts, dries, inspects, and packs Kib’s herbs in Ethiopia and exports them to the UK.
Before joining Kib, he worked for various food production companies in Ethiopia, learning the in’s and out’s of food processing.
Gudina hails from Ambo, Ethiopia. Outside work, he likes to read, watch movies, spend time with his wife, and visit his family. He’s also a dedicated English language learner and likes listening to songs by Michael Bolton and Don Williams for extra practice.
Meet our partner farmers

Getu Kebede
Getu and his family were our Kib 2020 Herb Growers of the Year. They grow a diverse range of Kib herbs: lemongrass, lavender, and tulsi (holy basil), all growing alongside avocado trees, green beans, and peas.

Belaynesh Berhe
Belaynesh was one of our very first partner farmers, joining the fold back in 2016. She is an expert lemongrass and avocado grower.

Worku Kinfe
Worku and his family became Kib partner farmers in early 2020. They’ve swiftly planted herbs and veggies around their avocado trees to turn their plots into true ‘food forests.’

Seman Wilichafo
Seman is a star peppermint and tulsi grower. He keeps a beehive in the trees above his tulsi — his bees stay busy, buzzing between his ever-blooming tulsi patch and his avocado trees.