General DeFoor, Nicole Linton, and Obi Linton
I have known Nicole and Obi Linton for years. We first met when they were operating their food truck and I was just starting out in my career. I was one of their early customers and have been following their journey ever since. I watched as they evolved their business from the food truck to producing food and spices that are sold in grocery stores.
I thought our On the Menu series was a perfect time to learn more about their business journey, the financial literacy lessons they learned and why they are committed to giving back to the community. On the day of our recording, Nicole, Obi and I met at the GIANT Food Store on Union Deposit Rd., where we walked through the aisles to find some of their spices and condiments.
Nestled in the “Global Flavors” section of the grocery store, we found a wide range of rice, spices and condiments marked with Nicobi’s signature red, black and green logo. They showed me their different products like Jerk Rice, Seasoned Yellow Rice and Spanish Rice before showing me their Soul Dust spices and Jerk Sauces, all of which can be purchased at GIANT Food Stores.
As I was talking with the couple, I noticed Obi wearing a shirt with their company’s tagline, “Flavored by Love” on it. Of course, I had to ask, “How did you come up with that?”
Nicole shared that the tagline goes back to their roots as a couple and their shared passion for good food.
“My husband and I come from two different backgrounds. I’m an educator and he’s former law enforcement. We bonded over our shared love of cooking and good food,” Nicole said. “I love my husband, and I love to cook. So, when we started cooking and bringing our recipes together, we just fell in love. That’s where ‘Flavored by Love’ comes from.”
Then we talked about Nicole and Obi’s business journey. The pair have been in the food industry for more than 17 years. In 2021, they sold their business and started something new – Nicobi Foods.
“We wanted to bring our recipes and ideas together and get them out to the public,” Obi said. “It was a different idea, but we’re a different business. It’s something that we wanted to try.”
They’ve been successful so far – Nicobi Foods was named one of the Top 50 Emerging Brands of 2025 by RangeMe and their products can be found on the Nicobi Foods website and in nearly 2,500 retail stores across Pennsylvania and the United States.
On Their Partnership With GIANT
GIANT is a Pennsylvania-based grocery store chain that’s been in business for more than 100 years. In addition to carrying nationally recognized food products and brands, it also carries items from local businesses such as Nicobi Foods.
As I sat in front of the large “Global Foods” section with Nicole and Obi, I asked how they established their relationship with the grocery store, ultimately getting their products on the shelves.
“It’s a fun story,” Obi said. “We use social media to direct our message and empower our business. We know GIANT is a great brand and they’re a community brand. So, we went into a store, took pictures of our product and visualized what it would look like on the shelf.”
Obi said that they posted pictures on social media, tagged GIANT and the rest was history.
“One day, we got a call from someone at GIANT who said ‘Okay, we got the tags, who are you and what do you want?’ and we just went from there,” Obi laughed. “The moral of the story is, be creative. It’s all about how you present yourself.”
Now Nicole and Obi don’t have to wish for their products to be on the shelves, they can just walk down the aisles and see them in real life.
“The opportunity is always in front of us, so we really do take advantage of it. That’s how we live our whole life,” Nicole chimed in.
The couple shared that their partnership with GIANT doesn’t stop at their products—they work together on community initiatives like bookbag giveaways and customer education events.
Obi said, “Through great partners like GIANT, we have the confidence to do amazing things for the community.”
Financial Literacy and Growing a Business
As I continued to talk with Nicole and Obi, our conversation shifted to the financial literacy side of social media. It was social media that got Nicobi Foods into GIANT and helped the Lintons grow their business, but if they didn’t have basic financial literacy knowledge, they may have struggled with meeting the demand.
Select the image to view clips from their conversation.
“The fun thing about social media is that you can blow up, but if you don’t have financial literacy, it can be a problem,” Obi said.
Nicole and Obi shared that they had a social media video go viral, which resulted in them receiving thousands and thousands of orders. Thankfully, they had a streamlined system in place and a strong understanding of financial literacy, so they were able to fill those orders without issue.
I then asked them both to share their best financial literacy tips for small business owners or anyone else trying to Be Money $mart.
Obi went first, “Never spend a dollar you don’t have. Also, focus on your product. A lot of people don’t like to hear that because they see you shopping in stores, getting millions of views on social media, talking to people like the Auditor General and they think it could happen in an instant. But it starts small and then grows from there.”
“You also have to plan for the good and the bad,” Nicole continued. “When you plan forward, you can succeed. You just have to recognize that right now is the time to plan for tomorrow.”
Nicobi Cares
Nicole Linton connects with community event attendees on behalf of Nicobi Cares.
In addition to running their business, Nicole also leads Nicobi Cares, an initiative that gives back to the community by providing self-care kits, food support and real resources for families, schools and shelters while building pathways for long-term opportunity.
Nicole shared that Nicobi Cares is an integral part of their larger business,
“The timestamp of a business is very short, so what we’ve done with Nicobi Cares is fuel our passion through wellness,” Nicole said. “That’s our mission. We’re teaching our customers and our viewers how to make their food on a budget, how to save at a grocery store and how to navigate through changing times.”
Nicole continued to say that the “cares” portion of Nicobi Cares brings in the self-care part. Her goal is to share what she knows about taking care of yourself to ensure people can care for and invest in themselves for the future.
Obi and Nicole Linton
Nicole said they will continue their partnerships with local community organizations and schools, a partnership with Empire Schools and keep their hygiene system up and running. They will also utilize their partnerships to build their team and continue to help businesses grow.
Before our conversation ended, I asked Nicole and Obi for one final piece of advice for the next generation of business owners and entrepreneurs.
“Start with a vision, start with creating goals day by day,” Nicole shared. “It can be something simple like ‘brushing your teeth’ and then you can add on. I would just suggest to any person, understand what they want for themselves and set their goal.”
Obi then added, “Fortify your mind, especially when it comes to business. Financial literacy is that first step.”
By: Tim DeFoor, Pennsylvania Auditor General
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Watch video clips from General DeFoor’s conversation with Nicole and Obi on the Department’s official YouTube channel.