Young Entrepreneur… ‘Flavor Me’

May 21, 2023 News

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“The role young entrepreneurs play in society is to bring fresh new innovative ideas, such as the introduction of new ways to prepare and market products, that will make completing many cooking tasks easier and faster.”

By Allyiah Allicock

Kaieteur News – If you are looking to make your cooking way easier with already prepared ingredients such as your ginger and garlic, then ‘Flavor Me’ has got just what you need.

‘Flavor Me’ was created with the idea of making meal preparation faster while at the same time bringing that naturally organic flavor to your food.

You may have seen their products on the local shelves of some popular supermarkets but have you ever wondered how it all did came to be, or who is responsible for its making?

Well, ‘Flavor Me’ was one of the many businesses which got started during the pandemic. Its proprietor Itisha Primo, 29, in a recent interview with this magazine said the business was officially launched in March 2020 but was later re-launched in November 2021 after a short break with her now co-owner, Andrew Zephyr.

She said what prompted her to start this business in the first place were the time-consuming tasks of having to blend or grate garlic and ginger every time she wanted to prepare her meals.

“I was home-cooking a lot during the pandemic. I love using garlic and ginger when preparing my meals, but I hate the task of preparing the garlic and ginger when cooking.  Because this increases the time it takes to prepare my meals. I wanted to find an easy way to make my cooking time shorter without leaving out my two favorite ingredients,” she explained.

Primo said then is when she decided to one day have everything prepared in advance, so the next time it would not take up as much time as it did to have her meals prepared.

According to Primo, in the process of doing so, she thought of other persons who too think it is time-consuming to have to blend and grate all the time. “I am sure I am not the only person that hates the task of preparing garlic and ginger when cooking. Also due to the pandemic, I knew more people were using a lot of garlic and ginger,” she shared.

Primo recalled that after making a few samples of grated garlic and ginger, she started to sell to family and friends, and though the support from them was good, she added that when she decided to test the waters and showcase her products on Facebook, she was blown away by the amount of support and feedback she got from persons who tried her products.

After seeing persons’ reaction, she related “So, I decided to make this into a business, I came up with a name and began the task of getting ‘Flavor Me’ products into every home.”

Primo recalled that when she first started this venture, her biggest challenge was financing and managing it.

She explained that this business she started with her savings. “I did not have a clue how to run a business, I just wanted to make the products and get them out there. So, because of me not knowing how to run a business, I mismanaged my finances and I had to put a pause on ‘Flavor Me’.”

Her business then came back to life after she met a friend, Andrew Zephyr who already had a successful business of his own and was interested in ‘Flavor Me’ and the concept behind it.

She said the two then in 2021 became business partners and re-launched ‘Flavor Me’.

“Also, I decided I needed to learn how to run a business and manage my finances. Hence, I took a few classes and learned a few things from my business partner. I am still learning how to not make the same mistakes again,” the young businesswoman added.

As for the pandemic, Primo commented that it affected her venture in a very positive way. She shared that it helped their business tremendously because people were using ginger and garlic products a lot to prevent them and their family from getting sick, noting that the products were in high demand. “Also, I realized that ‘Flavor Me’ products were making consumers work in the kitchen easier.”

With ‘Flavor Me’ offering products such as ginger and garlic pastes, pickled onions, garlic chilli oil, pepper sauce, grated garlic and ginger, Primo said their long-term goals are to have a wider range of products that are healthy and organic for consumers. Also, they are aiming to one day be a household name worldwide.

Meanwhile, when asked what role she thinks young entrepreneur play in our society, Primo said that they are a significant impact in our country.

According to her, “The role young entrepreneurs play in society is to bring fresh new innovative ideas, such as the introduction of new ways to prepare and market products, that will make completing many cooking tasks easier and faster.”

She added that what can be done in society to push small businesses further is helping to create an easier way for small business owners to access the finances they require to help with their business.

Our featured entrepreneur also suggested that free workshops and networking events can be held too so that young entrepreneurs would be able to have the knowledge to build their businesses and make the public aware of their products. “Also to create incentives for supermarkets and shops to stock local produce products,” she added.

For persons interested in procuring ‘Flavor Me’ products, they are available in supermarkets such as: Bounty at its Kitty, Grove, Regent Street branches; at Massy at its Providence, Turkeyen, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara branches; DSL at its Sheriff Street, Diamond and Ruimveldt branches; Coss Cutter at its Sheriff Street and Farm, East Bank Demerara branches; at Jermaine and Family Linden; at James and Son Line; and at the Guyana Shop located at Robb and Alexander Streets, Bourda.

Persons can also contact telephone numbers (592) 628-9336 or 695-4463.

 

 

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