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Levi Roots has successfully transitioned from a musician and chef to a prominent businessman and television personality, known for his unique approach to Caribbean food and entrepreneurship.
Levi Roots' journey starting with Reggae Reggae Sauce is highlighted as an inspiring tale of entrepreneurship, authenticity, and strategic branding, transitioning from a local market vendor to a household name.
Levi Roots partnered with a brand to create a range of Reggae Meals, representing a new and exciting opportunity for the brand to collaborate with a celebrity chef.
Roots has partnered with Domino's to produce Reggae Reggae variants of their products. In April 2011, Domino's Pizza in the UK launched a limited edition "Reggae Reggae Pizza."
Roots has partnered with Subway to produce Reggae Reggae variants of their products. Subway offers the sauce on various menu items.
Roots has partnered with Birdseye to produce Reggae Reggae variants of their products. In July 2009, Birds Eye released chicken Chargrills in Reggae Reggae Sauce.
Roots has partnered with KFC to produce Reggae Reggae variants of their products. As of this week, KFC partnered with Levi to launch a Reggae Reggae box meal in 2012.
Levi Roots Reggae Reggae Sauce launched a new experiential campaign celebrating the start of the British BBQ season by partnering with Foodies Festival.
In September 2010, Morrisons supermarket announced it would be carrying a range of Levi Roots sandwiches.
Keith Valentine Graham, known as Levi Roots, was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, in 1958. He spent his early childhood raised by his grandmother before moving to the United Kingdom at the age of 11 to join his parents. Roots later converted to the Rastafari faith at 18. His career began in music, where he performed alongside notable artists such as James Brown and Maxi Priest. In 1998, he was nominated for a Best Reggae Act MOBO award. Roots also performed for Nelson Mandela in Brixton in 1996, singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President.”
A significant turning point in Roots’ career occurred in 2007 when he appeared on the British TV show, Dragons’ Den. He successfully pitched his Reggae Reggae Sauce, a jerk barbecue sauce, securing a £50,000 investment from Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh for a 40% equity stake in his business. Prior to his appearance on the show, Roots had sold 4,000 bottles of the sauce at the Notting Hill Carnival in 2006. Following his Dragons’ Den success, Sainsbury’s began stocking his sauce in 600 stores. This led to considerable expansion of his brand into various food products like cooking sauces, ready meals, soft drinks, and desserts. He also ventured into the restaurant business, opening his first London restaurant, the Papine Jerk Centre, in Battersea from 2010 to 2012, and later a franchise restaurant in Westfield Stratford City in 2015.
Beyond food, Roots has expanded his media presence. In 2008, he released his cookbook, “Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae Cookbook,” and in 2009, he hosted the BBC2 television cooking show “Caribbean Food Made Easy,” accompanied by a book of the same name. He has made appearances on a range of television programs, including “Ready Steady Cook” (2008), “Celebrity Mastermind” (2010), “Big Brother,” “Anuvahood” (2011), “Death in Paradise” (2018), and “Celebrity Big Brother” (2024). Roots has also been appointed Chair of St Pauls Carnival in Bristol in 2021 and became Patron of RIFT Social Enterprise in May 2024, a not-for-profit organization supporting ex-offenders into self-employment. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of the West of England and the University of Westminster.
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