ANTILLEAN ENTREPRENEURS
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“In life you need either inspiration or desperation.”
This well-known quote from celebrated life coach Tony Robbins is a saying with which Jamaican entrepreneur Cheryl Holdsworth can identify. The high school English teacher felt she had to do something when a search for affordable, natural products to include in her diet yielded less than satisfactory results.
It was perhaps a combination of both inspiration and desperation that, in 2013, led to the decision to create her own line of natural food products. CherButters, an obvious play on the name Cheryl, was officially registered as a company in October of that year with the goal to create nut butters that are all-natural, healthy and affordable.
In just over a year, the company has started manufacturing several flavours of delicious nut and seed butters including almond butter, cashew butter, pumpkin seed butter, sunflower seed butter and pecan butter. CherButters has the distinction of being the only registered Jamaican company manufacturing with all natural products and without harmful hydrogenated or Palm oil.
This brand of nut butters are mainly sold in health food stores and other specialty retailers in Jamaica, providing health conscious buyers with a less expensive choice than pricey imported options. However, if this savvy entrepreneur has her way, the CherButters brand will be known well beyond the shores of her island home. Plans for future expansion include exporting to lucrative overseas markets where there is a high demand for good quality Jamaican products.
The journey has opened this business woman’s eyes to the possibilities that exist even within the realities of economic challenges in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
“Starting a business requires a lot of capital, passion and patience,” she shares. “It also means that for some, creating employment is often the best way to economic success.”
Cheryl’s entrepreneurial success has not gone unnoticed. She and the CherButters brand were recently nominated in the Jamaica Observer’s Food Award competition and featured on a morning segment of the local television station. The product is also registered with the Jamaica Bureau of Standards, the country’s agency responsible for food quality standards and certification.
Her story is one of innovation and having the vision to recognize the opportunity that existed behind her own need for healthy food. With a product that is satisfying a growing demand for organic, healthy foods, CherButters has found its niche within a crowded market place.
Cover image: Flickr pyxopotamus. CC-BY-ND
