Marcus 'Tubbs' Paul finds recipe for new start in homemade foods

THE YEAR 2020 was one which made many people make many changes.

Like Marcus “Tubbs” Paul who turned uncertainty into action: he started a new food business which came on stream just in time for Christmas. It's called Tubbs, after his childhood nickname. Paul is starting with the season's favourites, making chow chow (pickled vegetables), ponche-a-creme, although he also has kitchen must-haves such as pepper sauce, bottled seasoning and garlic sauce.

Paul is hoping to break into a market which has been dominated by household names for decades.

Paul, a father of one with another on the way, is not new to running a business. He was the CEO of Marcus Mixers – an events and catering company which provided services to Carnival fetes and social events. But when covid19 sunk the events industry, he had to find a way to provide for himself, his wife of two years and his children.

“We did a lot of events, for example, Max Richards’ fete, QRC fete, and so on. But I still considered myself small,” Paul said.

Paul took over the events company from his father Noble Paul, who was a supervisor for special events at Carib in the 1980s. His father became a household name in the events services industry, and Paul decided to follow in his footsteps.

“At first it was just a job to get money, but after I left several other jobs I decided to make this serious. My dad was old-school, so he was a little hesitant, but I said we need to brand and we need to get our names out there.

“I branded under Marcus Mixers, I learned the business from scratch. From picking up bottles to cashing, to balancing books to the interaction with senior staff at Carib,” Paul said.

After his father died, Paul continued the company, providing quality bar and catering services. As a caterer, he and the chefs made sauces, seasonings, and even ponche-a-creme, even though it was not Christmas, for parties and events.

“I would sell ponche-a-creme for the bar service. I would use green seasoning for the catering and so on. I thought I used them regularly and people always talked about it, so why don’t I bottle and sell it?

“But that didn’t amount to anything. Marcus Mixers was doing well. Between catering, rentals and bars, I was always busy. You would think it would be seasonal but it is all year round.

“Things were comfortable for me, so that idea got put on the back burner.”

Then, covid19 hit.

The events industry was hit particularly hard. Because of physical distancing measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus, the number of events whittled down from hundreds during the year to zero.

Marcus Mixers took a direct hit. Paul said he felt depressed after the business declined, and considered a small-scale food service selling lunches to offices. He was inspired by someone he looked up to pursue the idea he had put on the back-burner.

“I went to a house-warming and I was listening to someone successful. He was driving a fancy vehicle, had a nice house and so on. But he was telling us that he was on the verge of losing his house, and people would never know he was going through so much. When I heard his story and what he made out of it, I thought to myself I was really playing the fool. Instead of sitting on my laurels, I decided to revisit my idea and get started.”

It took Paul several weeks to get his business off the ground, and only officially launched Tubbs two Tuesdays ago. He now divides his week between production, marketing, sales and delivery.

The recipe for Tubbs chow chow came from his wife, who would normally make the popular Christmas sauce for friends and family from a secret recipe.

“The recipe is actually her mother’s,” Paul said. “She would do the chow chow from home, and share with family and other people around. When I was thinking about the sauces I did and which were the most popular, she suggested that I included the chow chow.

“So far, everyone who tasted it described it as a good family recipe.”

His other products got similar positive reviews. Paul said the only negative feedback he got was that the ponche-a-creme did not have enough alcohol in it, despite using the industry standard of 17 per cent, and that the bottle of garlic sauce was too small.

He up to the challenge of making it in a market of household names, even if his prices are a little higher, by an average of three per cent.

But he told Business Day that the difference between his chow chow and other brands can be seen in the process, quality and taste.

“I approached a company and they asked me a similar question,” Paul said. “What would make a consumer walk into their store and buy my brand over the others.

“I have been catering for years, and my products have no preservatives. My brand is superior in my opinion. In other brands, you will get the flavour in the sauce, but when it is cold it looks like a gum. With mine you get that honest amount of vegetables in every serving. My product gives you more quality but you wouldn’t know unless you taste it. ”

Paul sources all of what he needs from people who has has networked with before. For the produce he calls on a farmer who lives in Arouca. The design for his labels he got from his friend, Nigel Barrow, graphic designer. A connection of Barrows prints the labels. He depends on established companies like GableX TT in Carapichaima for his bottles.

Because his line of products is new on the market, Paul said he would have to start small. He plans to go to several markets and give out samples. By next year, he hopes to see the Tubbs line of products on the shelves of at least 75 per cent of a major food retailer. And in the years to follow, he hopes to take the Tubbs brand even further.

“People would have to get to know the product, see the product and taste it, but my goal is to begin exporting.”