Ujamaa Spice x FERO: How an ethical food brand drove a 34.9% uplift at checkout
See how Ujamaa Spice made ethical shopping effortless with a checkout built for trust and simplicity.
“I never ever thought that checkout could also influence the amount of purchases … until FERO.”
Meet Ujamaa Spice
Ujamaa Spice is a Scotland-based company founded by Jawahir Al‑Mauly. The brand sources single-origin, ethically produced spices from Zanzibar, working directly with smallholder farmer cooperatives and reinvesting into the communities it supports. Its mission is to shorten the supply chain, ensure fairness for farmers, and help consumers better understand where their spices come from.
While Ujamaa has built strong expertise in B2B, reaching and converting consumers online presented a different set of challenges. Many founders face the same learning curve.
“I’m really good when it comes to B2B businesses, but when it comes to getting that product e-commerce in front of consumers online, that’s where we struggle. A lot of us do.”
How Checkout Became a Strategic Focus
Like many founders in food and beverage, Jawahir hadn’t considered checkout a priority. She described herself as “not very tech-savvy” and focused mainly on product and brand, rather than the mechanics of the online store. It wasn’t until her initial conversations with FERO that she began to consider how checkout might be affecting conversion.
“I never ever thought that checkout could also influence the amount of purchases … until FERO.”
Designing a Seamless Customer First Checkout
Ujamaa Spice is committed to products and experiences that reflect the communities and farmers we work with. Working with FERO showed me how checkout shapes customer behaviour and revealed opportunities to improve the experience.
Jawahir described the change as “such a win” for the business. With FERO’s checkout in place, everything now feels clearer and more intuitive. Basket items are displayed neatly, totals are visible at a glance, and applying coupons is effortless.
“No more guessing, no more clutter!”
A few subtle but powerful updates made all the difference, for example, a progress slider now shows customers how close they are to free shipping. It is the small detail that makes the experience more engaging and encourages people to add more to their basket naturally.
Payment options also got a major upgrade. Before, there were only a couple of choices; now customers can choose from multiple payment methods, making checkout faster and stress-free.
Most importantly, the brand’s identity stayed intact. The checkout adapts to fit the warm and vibrant feel, keeping the look modern and user-friendly while staying true to the brand.
“It looks sleek and modern without losing the warmth and spirit that makes Ujamaa Spice, well, Ujamaa Spice.”
An adaptive checkout engine that uses predictive AI to automatically adjust, showing the right design, layout, or payment option based on the shopper's behaviour. It integrates easily with ecommerce platforms and can be deployed in under 10 minutes.
Measurable Impact: Checkout Success
In their first A/B test with FERO, Ujamaa Spice saw a clear lift in checkout conversions of 34.9% within two weeks. No heavy development, just simple setup and real results.
“I definitely saw an increase … more people checking out and orders coming in — very positive, I would say!”
Beyond the numbers, Jawahir praised FERO’s onboarding as “one of my favorite processes” with any tech company, highlighting the clear communication, personalized videos, and hands-on support.
The hands-on support throughout the process helped Jawahir feel more confident navigating the technical side of ecommerce. The process turned what once felt like a unfamiliar blackbox into something she could approach with clarity and trust.
Scaling with Purpose and Impact
After seeing strong early results, Ujamaa Spice is continuing to work with FERO to build on what’s working. Jawahir shared: “Do it. Get over that fear of the unknown and just honestly give them a try … I would absolutely highly, highly recommend it.”
For Jawahir, the experience has become something she now recommends to other founders navigating similar challenges, especially for those wearing multiple hats and trying to make the most of every visitor.