Stories

Ibraheem Basir grew up in Brooklyn, surrounded by his large family, enjoying big meals and basking in the tastes and sounds of his community's Latin, Creole, and Caribbean culture.

_{Ibraheem Basir, founder of A Dozen Cousins.}

"Food was very much the glue of our household," he said. "My mother and sisters were always swapping recipes with neighbors. It was very normal for us to eat yellow rice with black-eyed peas and jerk chicken. It was very much this regional fusion that has inspired a lot of what we do today."

Today, Ibraheem is based in Los Angeles and is the founder and CEO of A Dozen Cousins, a name inspired by his love of family — namely, his first child plus 11 nieces and nephews. His company specializes in the production of ready-to-eat bone broth rice, seasoned beans, flavorful entrées, and rice seasoning sauces.

"We wanted to create a brand that felt very cultural, very authentic, where the foods were fully seasoned and fully flavored, but use the best ingredients possible. So we cook our beans in avocado oil, we cook our rice in bone broth, so it has collagen and protein," he said. "I'm really proud of the way that we have walked that line."

Affordability and social responsibility

Aside from wanting to reflect the ethnicities that surrounded his childhood, he also wanted to ensure that underserved communities could afford to eat healthy food. That's why he also started a Social Impact Grant program to help Americans of different socio-economic backgrounds.

_{Families can enjoy cooking with natural ingredients.}

"If you think about health and wellness in America, fresh healthy food costs more money," he said. "Groups that historically have been disenfranchised tend to have lower household net worths, less income by and large, and are more likely to have bad health. And that comes by way of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity – just a number of food-related illnesses."

For Ibraheem, being an entrepreneur is about more than running a business. It's about using influence to create an impact. As a child, he saw his father, an entrepreneur himself, always be of service to the community. He carried that sense of responsibility into his entrepreneurial journey, using the grant program he developed to support organizations like Hike Clerb, Project Potluck, LA Community Fridges, and more.

He also recently moved the company's production efforts to Mexico, helping him achieve his mission of providing food at a reasonable cost, sourcing fresh ingredients, and supporting one of the communities that inspires the food and flavors he works with. Today, 100% of the workforce at A Dozen Cousins comes from minority or multi-ethnic backgrounds. About 80% of employees are Black or of Latin descent.

"Having a very clear mission as a business and as a brand is essential for two reasons. It gives a north star for everyone to point towards as a decision-making framework. People are more engaged," he said.

Quick payments key for vendors

For Ibraheem, an important part of operating a business that focuses on supporting communities means being able to pay people quickly and giving people options on how they want to pay. As a consumer, Ibraheem was a habitual user of PayPal. When he launched his business, he wanted to ensure that his customers and contractors would benefit from PayPal as well. Today, about 75% of the company's orders come through PayPal, thanks to PayPal Checkout.

_{A Dozen Cousins sells a wide range of healthy, flavorful products.}

"Consumers love it for the convenience," he explained. "As an operator, I use PayPal and Venmo a lot to pay some of our smaller vendors. I love the fact that I can just get people paid quickly.

"Sometimes you have small vendors that need their money as soon as they can get it," he added. "They don't want to have to fill out six forms and go check the bank account every couple of days to see if it hit or not. And so I like the speed and simplicity of PayPal a lot."

A thriving and engaged workforce has helped A Dozen Cousins achieve success nationwide. Today, the company's products are available chain-wide at Whole Foods Market, Publix, Wegmans, Sprouts, and Meijer. They are also available regionally at Target and Walmart.

Still, Ibraheem is focused on growing his business and the impact he is making on minority communities. His future goals include raising awareness around the company and enticing more people to try his products. He also wants to entice other entrepreneurs to create mission-led businesses.

"Make sure it's a mission that you genuinely care about and that you're passionate about," he said. "I think a lot of times when we talk about social impact, it can feel like a PR stunt. For me, the brands and the companies that I've interacted with where our mission has been most impactful, it was because the team genuinely cared about the cause, and that comes through in the work."