Local maker collaborates to capture the tastes of Southwest Michigan in a jar

By Geri Pawelski

Photos by Kayla Scarberry

When Aiye Akhigbe traveled from Nigeria to attend college in New Rochelle, New York, she expected to eventually return home, begin a career and probably start a family.

Instead, after completing an undergraduate degree in advertising and a master’s in corporate communications, then working for several years in New York and Washington states, Akhigbe joined the U.S. Navy. “I’ve lived many lives, and each one of them I never expected to live,” she says.

While serving in Japan on an amphibious ship, she met her future partner, Ty Robson, who hailed from Niles, Michigan. After finishing their service, the couple moved to Michigan, where they bought a farm north of Niles. Akhigbe worked at a local credit union, Robson worked the farm, and the couple began a family.

Akhigbe launched Sticky Spoons Jam after a co-worker ordered 24 quarts of her strawberry jam, which Akhigbe had begun making at home as her young son grew and progressed from puréed Michigan produce to PB&J sandwiches.

Today, Akhigbe proudly spotlights Sticky Spoons Jam as a veteran-owned business and sells about 30 flavors of jams and preserves at over 20 Michiana stores, restaurants and markets and at the retail store and production facility they built on the farm in 2023. At the store, the couple also sell their own maple syrup and homegrown popcorn plus select items from other local producers. Through her online store, Akhigbe ships jam worldwide, including to fellow sailors.

Local farmers know Akhigbe as “the Jam Lady.” While she grew up in Nigeria and has traveled the globe, Akhigbe’s business focus is distinctly local. Her commitment to nurturing collaborative local relationships and building community defines how Akhigbe develops and markets her products.

“This is collaborative work for us. We want to work local; we want to work small,” she says.

To that end, Sticky Spoons Jam acquires 95% of its fruit from within 30 miles of the farm. From outside Michigan she sources only five fruits not grown in the Midwest: pineapples, bananas, mangos, limes and lemons. She even planted 50 hardy fig trees on the farm two years ago and is tracking the development of a hardy lemon, which she will also plant once available.

Imaginative ideas frequently transform Akhigbe’s relationships into fresh collaborations. One example is the family’s partnership with Iron Shoe Distillery, for which Robson grows heritage corn. Akhigbe ages her whiskey-flavored maple syrup in an Iron Shoe barrel, and the distillery’s menu includes a mojito featuring Akhigbe’s Blueberry Lavender Preserve. Building on another local association, Akhigbe is developing a wine-infused jam, an idea formed after she purchased grapes for one of her jams from a local vineyard.

Sticky Spoons Jam also shows up at other businesses. Olga’s Kitchen restaurants, based in Detroit with 25 locations across Michigan and beyond, created a menu item featuring Sticky Spoons Jam, and a local pizzeria plans to top a pizza with Akhigbe’s fig preserve once the trees bear enough fruit.

Akhigbe demonstrates her commitment to community in her “drama-free workplace” where, she says, “We get along, we build community.” She hires adult and teenage part-time workers (up to 11 during busy summers) and offers flexibility for family and school commitments, noting that “nobody should ever be made to feel that work is all there is.”

With so many intriguing flavors to choose from, including Apple Pie, Peach Basil Jalapeno, Sweet Heat and Strawberry Lemonade, to name a few, what’s the most popular Sticky Spoons Jam? It’s the flavor that captures the essence of a Southwest Michigan summer, Blueberry Lavender Preserve—a fitting reflection of Akhigbe’s passion for her community.

Sticky Spoons Jam, LLC
11801 Pucker St.
Niles, MI

269.867.0638
stickyspoonsjam.com
Facebook: stickyspoonsjamllc
Instagram: stickyspoonsjam

Geri Pawelski has called Michiana home since 1988, and after a career spent in offices, spends her time volunteering in the community, taming her yard, spoiling her cats and exploring the delights of our region.