Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Sonya Dunstan displays her range of products. Dunstan, who hopes to cash in big time during the Cricket World Cup, has plans of expanding to other Caribbean markets such as Trinidad and Tobago. - Contributed

SONYA DUNSTAN was employed to the Half Moon hotel in Montego Bay when she started her confectionery business, A Taste of the Caribbean, four years ago.

She says, back then flat-foot hustling was the name of the game.

"On my days off I would go to Kingston, pack the products in scandal bags, then take a bus to Ocho Rios where I would sell it to stores and in-bond merchants. Then it would be back to Montego Bay and get ready for work," she told The Gleaner last week.

Dunstan laughed as she reflected on the hectic early days of A Taste of the Caribbean, before stating, seriously, "I'm very passionate about my work."

The entrepreneur will call on that passion in the coming weeks when some of her products will be available for the Cricket World Cup which bowls off at Sabina Park on March 13.

A Taste of the Caribbean is one of several local businesses that have been granted licences to use the International Cricket Council's (ICC) official logos during the six-week tournament which will be played in nine territories.

World cup boon

Dunstan sees the World Cup as a major opportunity for her company to score heavily in different markets.

"I hope it will create possibilities in the Caribbean for me as a market, I have exported to Caribbean countries, but only in small quantity," Dunstan, 37, told The Gleaner.

Tamarind balls and old-time Jamaican mint balls are the products from A Taste of the Caribbean that will be on show for the World Cup. They are just two of over 50 items by local entrepreneurs that will be produced and distributed by the Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC).

Dunstan said A Taste of the Caribbean has done business in tourist-friendly territories such as The Bahamas, The Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. She is keen to make a mark in bigger markets like Trinidad and Tobago, but to date, has been unable to.

Trans-shipment woes

"One of the problems is logistics. It's difficult for me in terms of trans-shipment. There's the alternative, which is to air-freight, but that is so expensive," she said.

Currently, A Taste of the Caribbean exports to the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) in the United States. It has a small presence in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Locally, the company's line of rum fudge and jams can be found mainly in north coast hotels. Dunstan says the tourist industry is her most vibrant market.

"If it doesn't do well, I don't do well," she said.

A past student of St. Andrew High School and the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now the University of Technology), Dunstan is familiar with the tourist industry. She went straight into that sector after graduating from Florida International University with a degree in hospitality and tourism.

She said she was driven to start her own business after stints with Half Moon in Montego Bay and Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston. The growing confectionery scene seemed most attractive.

Humble beginnings

Because no company showed interest in investing in a business with no collateral, A Taste of the Caribbean, Dunstan explained, was jump-started with personal funding as well as support from "family and partners".

Through courses at the Scientific Research Council, she learned how to make jams and jellies. The JBDC helped sharpen her marketing skills.

Dunstan currently employs five workers at her small outlet which is located at Cargill Avenue in St. Andrew. Since starting A Taste of the Caribbean, she said she has experienced the problems many small businesses face, like high interest rates and competing with bigger companies.

The sometimes hostile climate, she admitted, can be demoralising. She has even thought of packing it in.

"Many times, but I prayed about it," she said. "I realise that success doesn't come overnight, it takes time."