Sylvia Kapsandoy is the Nairobi-born, Salt Lake City-based founder behind USimplySeason, a kitchen brand that sells fresh, vibrant spice blends. Amazon customers love USimplySeason’s wide array of spice offerings, which celebrate flavors from all corners of the world—like Jamaican jerk, Ethiopian berbere, and Indian garam masala.
Kapsandoy is one of the many small business owners who uses Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to lower operational costs and free up time to innovate and create more products. With the FBA program, independent sellers can take advantage of Amazon’s cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure, and outsource their fulfillment, delivery, customer service, and returns to Amazon.
In her own words, Kapsandoy shares the story of USimplySeason and how FBA can empower other small business owners and independent sellers on Amazon:
My mom is the biggest inspiration in my life—she’s a nurse, homemaker, and an amazing cook, too. In her late 30s, my dad passed away, leaving her as a single mom raising four kids in Kenya. The stress eventually led to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
Later, my sister, who has her PhD and is also a nurse, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). With two strong women in my family battling diseases, I was inspired to use spices with natural benefits, instead of adding supplements, in my cooking.
I started my business in 2013, creating healthy spices that tell the story of merging tradition, innovation, and health. I wanted to show how you can incorporate food as medicine into your everyday life and make it easy to create fabulous meals for your family in a short period of time.
After more than 10 years of running my business, these are my top 4 learnings and tips for other small business owners who want to sell in Amazon’s store.
