Chef, entrepreneur, mother, saleswoman – Khadra is doing it all. What started off as dinner with friends has now turned into a successful side hustle with Ambero Hot Sauce being sold at over 20 locations in the Twin Cities. Khadra’s sauce pays homage to her mother’s traditional Somalian recipes passed down from generations, embodying an East African blend of spices for an unforgettable culinary experience. In 2025, she was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by the Global Somali Awards for her success as a small business owner in creating and marketing an original product. Khadra is currently participating in Cultural Destination’s Business Incubator Training Program, where she is a part of a local cohort of small business owners teaming up to sell their products at the 2026 Minnesota State Fair. This program is supported in partnership with WomenVenture and other local economic development organizations.
Read about Khadra’s inspiring journey and the story behind her success below!
What inspired you to start your premium hot sauce business and take a leap into entrepreneurship?
I’m not a certified chef, but when I was seven years old, my mom taught me how to cook. I became, without a certificate, a “natural born chef”. From there, I mastered all kinds of food.
One night, I invited a couple of my friends over for dinner and I made different sauces. One of my friends said “Khadra, you cannot hide this product. You need to bring this sauce to the markets”. I wanted to do that, but I was hesitant. I needed encouragement, so I invited more friends to taste the sauce and try to sell it. They kept ordering! “We need sauce – we ran out of sauce.” Soon 20 people became 40 people ordering it.
I started going to Somali community gathering places – Karmel Mall, 24 Somali Mall – and went around store to store introducing myself and my sauce. Everyone encouraged me to get a license to start officially selling it.
In 2022, I started getting my business and Cottage Food licenses, and went through all the tests: food service manager, getting certified in how to preserve, and testing the PH levels in a food safety lab. By January of 2024, I was able to start distributing to stores.
What does success mean to you now compared to when you started?
I would go sit at stores to promote my sauce and have people try it. Before I went store to store, people didn’t know about the product. But now, I’ve created a TikTok! At first, I only spoke Somali in the videos and was only working with my community. Now I’m using English so that everyone knows what I’m talking about. I make a video when I’m at the stores where I sell the sauce and introduce myself, make it fun, and promote where you can find my sauce in the store. I make sure to promote the whole store too, and they love it. I made it viral a couple of times, so all my TikTok followers know where to buy the sauce!
What makes your product unique?
This sauce is great with any dish–we use it to eat with rice, pita bread, chicken, beef, fish, pasta, and we eat it with traditional Soor. With this sauce, you can eat it with anything.
A lot of people, especially back home in my country, use the same ingredients. But what makes my product different is that I use organic ginger, organic lemon, organic vinegar, organic dates. I use all possible healthy products.
Health wise–I don’t catch a cold easily. I’m not saying it’s medication, but I’ve had people tell me it’s basically a remedy for colds. You can make soup with it – with the lemon and ginger, it detoxes your body. The tamarind is good for your liver and if you have cholesterol.
How has WomenVenture played a role in growing your business?
I’m thrilled with WomenVenture and the support that I get from [the organization]. I wouldn’t ever reach people the way am now. The advice, the support, the referrals – it’s amazing.
What has been your proudest moment so far?
Being a single mom, doing two jobs, being consistent and working hard, and providing for my kids without help. It’s good to get help, but I’m proud to have done this by myself with the support of my community – the community from WomenVenture, the community of Somali people – I’m so happy. I’m blessed.
So where can you find Khandra’s products?
You can find her hot sauce at multiple stores across the Twin Cities Metro and follow Chef Khadra on Tiktok (@khadra.abshir5) for more information!
Author: Heather Cook, WomenVenture Marketing Manager
