Diasporic Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean - Firm Profiles.pdf Vol 2 | Page 22

Agro-processing Firms

7. MARIE SHARP’S FINE FOODS LIMITED
Company Background:
Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods Ltd. was first
conceived in Mrs. Sharp’s kitchen in Dangriga,
Belize. She experimented with various pepper
sauce recipes and bottled it for family, friends
and neighbors who then encouraged her to
pursue a business venture based on her hobby.
In 1981, she decided to convert her kitchen
into a small home factory. She usually made
the pepper sauces when she came home
from work and hired an assistant to help her
bottle the commodity. Twenty years later, her
perseverance and strong business acumen
led to the creation of a family business that
has grown to employ over 20 local workers
and boasts a sophisticated food processing
facility that manufactures for both local and
international markets. The company is now
estimated to be worth approximately US$3.5
million.
Main Products/Services:
The company initially focused on selling
pepper sauces. The product line has since
expanded to include tropical fruit jams and
jellies, seasoning, and fruit squashes sold in
both local and international markets. The
“Proud Products of Belize” logo is imprinted
on all products. The company owns a 400acre farm from which some of the chili and
habanero, along with carrots and other base
ingredients, are farmed.
Location:
Factory and operations are located in Belize,
and the products are exported to Canada, USA,
Honduras, El Salvador, Asia, Europe, Pacific
and Russia.
Employment:
20 persons

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Target Market:
Diaspora, international hot sauce enthusiasts,
and Belizeans
Diasporic Market Analysis:
Marie Sharp products first entered American
supermarkets due to the demand of the
Belizean diaspora living in the USA. The
world’s eighteenth largest public retailer
corporation, Walmart, which is a leading retail
food chain, approached Marie Sharp about
her products. Walmart contacted Marie Sharp
due to the demand of Belizean diaspora for
the habanero pepper sauce. Currently Marie
Sharp’s products are found in certain Walmart
locations in the Southeast USA.
The diaspora and tourists visiting Belize are
the two main consumers of Marie Sharp
products. One of the company’s biggest
successes, apart from local Belizeans, has
been the ability to tap into the tourist market
segment. There is usually a large number
tourists visiting Belize and they have been
cooking in great numbers. The company has a
gift shop at its factory and during the tourist
season, thousands of tourists visit and tour
the factory and purchase various products.
In addition, nearly all Belizeans leaving the
international airport buy the products to take
for family and friends abroad.