Joke leads to a pepper sauce brand

VALDEEN SHEARS

What started as a joke has led to a thriving business for two young entrepreneurs.

When they first spoke casually on the phone late one evening, Colin Pereira and Renisa Baldeo had no idea the subject of the conversation was the start of a business.

Pereira, 25, is a national long distance runner and Mayaro resident. His fiancée, Baldeo, lives at Oropune Gardens, Piarco. The duo always found their conversations leading back to starting their own business and Baldeo recalled "cracking a joke about wanting to make pepper sauce" and her fiancé's ready agreement. After a few discussions on the procedures and process of their new venture, PEPs Pepper Sauce was born. They had what Baldeo described as, "lengthy discussions on all the procedures, such as process in the production of the pepper sauce, health and safety, places that we can sell our product, marketing, registering our business etc. Collin, being my greatest support system agreed and we both proactively put things in place to start our business. That simple joke has now become a reality," recalled Baldeo.

The brand is available at a number of supermarkets and mini marts in south Trinidad.

Baldeo explained that the brand, PEP, is a combination of the first initials of his surname (Pereira) and her middle name, Esther and the word pepper sauce.

"It is also a short term for pepper sauce like a slang: 'pass me the peps'," she joked.

Business Day asked why pepper sauce, when there were already so many on the nation's grocery shelves? "With pepper sauces there are endless and unique flavours that can be experimented with. In addition there is a relatively long shelf life compared to other products. Collin and I built on our ideas and created a product that is special and we wish for it to stand the test of time and be around for generations," she said.

Initially, business was very slow, but then the couple realised it was quickly catching on and they were getting positive reviews from customers.

They came up with the idea to combine Pereira's experience as a long distance runner with their new brand, resulting in them hosting PEPS' first international 5K on April 1.

The event was held in Pereira's hometown of Rio Claro, where they received a lot of support.

"At the 5k event we showcased our three flavours of authentic pepper sauces. The participants and persons present at the event fell in love with the flavours; Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Scotch Bonnet and Sweet Thai Chilli. We were commended for hosting the event, which really appeared to have brought the community of Rio Claro together and individuals from the western part of the country. Both the councillor and the MP, helped us to get a kick start, by getting our products on the shelves of... Persad's the Food King," Baldeo said.

Pereira, though, thinks its not just the taste that draws customers back, but the vibrant packaging, which he credits to Baldeo.

Additionally, Baldeo stated, the brand has no artificial preservatives, flavours nor thickeners because they want to provide customers with a taste "closest to home-made".

Baldeo said there are plans to launch the product nationwide. "With the continued help from both of our families. The long term goal of the business is to have the product on the shelves of supermarkets in the eastern, western, northern regions of Trinidad and Tobago and exporting of the product worldwide. We want so much to bring a homemade taste into the homes of many."