About Jikoni Studios

Jikoni [Swahili] noun: kitchen

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In Swahili, Jikoni means kitchen. At our core, that’s what we are.

A space to cook, to share, and to create.

 

Who We Are 

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Jikoni Studios was founded in November 2019 by former Buzzfeed Tasty Producer, Kiano Moju. Her diverse team of experts specialize in consulting, culinary producing, food styling, and the production of mobile-forward recipe content.  

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We are food video experts, building a space to create high-quality cooking content, from a food or kitchen product advertisement to functional sets for filming cooking shows. Jikoni Studios is a one-stop-shop that houses all the pieces of your next food and kitchen-related project; come with your ideas, cameras, and groceries, and we’ll cover the rest! 

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As content creators ourselves, we purpose-built the space to meet all the needs a shoot could have. All our kitchens are fully-functional, and our studios are thoroughly equipped with props, cookware, and kitchen set decor. 

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Alongside our studio space, we also offer add-on culinary production support, utilizing our experience to work alongside our studio clients in food styling or overall culinary production. 

 

Our Studios 

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Our rentable kitchen studio sets are inspired by the homely and grand aesthetics of modern English townhouses, evoking expertise and reliability in all our work. Studio features include all-day natural light and weathered exposed brick walls. 

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A favored offering is our curated props and cookware collection. From tabletop props for beauty shots, to pots and pans for functional recipe videos, our props and cookware collection has been carefully selected from local artisan ceramicists, international cookware merchants, and individual craftsmen while traveling abroad. 

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Consulting 

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If you’re new to the world of food content, or just need a helping hand in the right direction, our approach to consulting is through educational workshops with your team to create, revise, or refine the way you’re creating your food content. 

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With the ever-changing content landscape, and more people turning to social media to find what to cook than ever before, our approach isn’t to simply create a general social content template, but to rather teach foundational, evergreen social content principles that won’t go out of date after the next algorithm update or online streaming shift. 

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We are also at the forefront of tech and food news, bringing commentary to one of the least discussed niches in media: food media. Our articles combine our industry knowledge with new and exciting developments to the niche, so be sure to keep up with them on our Medium page and our Resource Center. 

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Our founder, Kiano Moju, now teaches her industry expertise to bring new voices and opportunities to the niche, through holding an Intro To Food Media course at Syracuse University and networking events at our studios in Los Angeles, California. 

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Our Founder 

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Kiano Moju, founder and CEO of Jikoni Studios, is a Los Angeles-based culinary producer and on-screen personality. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Communications and Rhetorical Studies from Syracuse University, and a Master of Arts in Publishing from University of the Arts London.

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After learning the ropes of studio production in London, she joined BuzzFeed’s food video vertical, Tasty, where she produced such viral successes as Party Rice Around Africa, How to Make Moist Carrot Cake, Making Rainbow Croissants, and Making a 4 Flavor Cheesecake. In 2019, Kiano departed BuzzFeed and launched Jikoni Media. 

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In May 2020, Jikoni Media soft-launched our online food community site, Jikoni.co, to create space for Black and under-represented voices in food media to tell their own stories, highlighting the food of the African diaspora through editorial content and events. 

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Her debut cookbook, AfriCali, is due to publish with Simon & Schuster in 2024.