Agro-processor‘s fruit-flavoured bar-b-que sauce takes off

By Ravena Gildharie
GUYANESE women have always been at the forefront of innovative agro-processing ventures and Sandra Craig is one of those pioneers. Producer of a line of several fruit-flavored bar-b-que sauces branded under a local label called SS Natural Fruit Flavours, Craig’s products are gaining popularity beyond these shores.

Craig’s products were a big hit during the 13th Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) held last August in Barbados where the producer enjoyed sold-out business and secured at least three export markets, one in Antigua and two in the United Kingdom. She is now busy preparing her first shipment for the U.K. and is looking forward to expanding her operations that would also create more direct opportunities for local farmers.

She commenced operations three years ago as a family-owned venture at Bourda Market where she began experimenting with different fruits to flavour the sauce. She started initially with pineapple sauce and shared among her family and friends to test the product. They were impressed and encouraged Craig to produce more. The pineapple-flavoured sauce became her signature product and she later started using sour-sop, golden apple, tamarind, passion fruit and ginger/garlic.

These are all now available bottled and labeled with a shelf-life of up to one year. She also produces ketchup and jerk seasoning for the local and overseas market.
Her products are on shelves at the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) Guyana Shop on Robb Street and Craig is exploring other similar ventures with local supermarkets including Massy Stores. She has already developed a number of regular customers including restaurant and cook-shop owners and overseas-based Guyanese. Some of her local customers would also purchase the products to take or send to relatives and friends living overseas.

“My products are unique and the quality is of the same level as other bar-b-que sauces, plus I think people are seeing the health benefits too,” Craig highlighted. Noting the strong competition with similar imported products, the agro-processor had to readjust her local prices twice to capture more market share.

“After people started sampling my produce, they even came back to get more and brought their friends. I eventually sold out and they wanted more, but I couldn’t meet the demand,” Craig said. It was at CARIFESTA that she met three different individuals who expressed interest to network and buy her products for retail in the U.K and Antigua. One of the buyers owns a store in the U.K. and is organising with Craig to have the first export before the end of this month. The Antigua buyer supplies restaurants on the island and is looking to finalise export with Sandra soon.

As she looks to export, Craig will be looking to expand her operations and seeking farmers to ensure steady supplies of fresh produce.
Previously, she produced about 100 bottles per day but has the capacity to produce 500 bottles within that time. With the help of two temporary employees, Craig said she can produce as much as 10, 000 gallons of sauce per day. She purchases the bottles overseas and the costs are a heavy burden on her overall production, but Craig is currently exploring cheaper options.

She does her processing at Bourda while the packaging and labeling are done at Grove, East Bank Demerara.
Craig is a trained social worker and has benefitted from several agro-processing and business training from GMC, Ministry of Agriculture and the Small Business Trust. She has showcased her products at various exhibitions and events.

She believes she is the first person in Guyana that has developed packaged fruit-flavoured bar-b-que sauce.