Kelvin and Anessa Forde are looking to build a ‘Taste’ empire
After a decade of selling cassareep at Stabroek Market every Christmas, Kelvin and Anessa Forde launched their business Anessa’s and Kelvin’s Taste and today Kelvin’s Taste cassareep, green seasoning and pepper sauce is widely available.
Massy (Providence, Turkeyen, Vreed-en-Hoop, and Ruimveldt), Bounty (Kitty, Water Street, Regent Street and Grove), Survival (Sheriff Street), Fresh Co (Great Diamond) Cross Cutter, Andrew’s, FoodMaxx (Giftland Mall) and the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) all carry the brand.
While product presentation and marketing are important when it comes to business, the entrepreneur said selling quality products has been vital for his success. Some supermarkets, he said, took a few of his products the first time he approached them, others needed a bit more coaxing but once they had Kelvin’s Taste on their shelves, they needed to keep restocking owing to customer demand.
However, he did not manage to get his products into all of the supermarkets he approached. According to Forde, when he visited Mattai’s Supermarket, he was told his wholesale price was too high. Though Forde reached out to them a second time, they did not budge. Yet, for some supermarkets it was more about quality than the cost.
“When I went to Survival, he [the manager] didn’t want to buy the cassareep but then he told one of his staff to taste the cassareep. Right away she said, ‘Boss, the cassareep tastes very nice’, and immediately Survival started to buy. Kelvin’s Taste products speak for itself. When you try a bottle of Kelvin’s Taste hot sauce, green seasoning, flavour sauce and cassareep, you will stick to that brand all the time because I give people value for their money. If you buy a bottle of cassareep, you have everything inside. If you can’t make Pepperpot, try Kelvin’s Taste cassareep. It has the pepper and the spices inside already,” Forde stated.
He noted that his products were all natural with no artificial colours or flavours. The only additive is sodium benzoate, which is used as a preservative.
He said it was his wife who came up with the ingredients for the cassareep and their other products. Forde said that for ten years he had been selling just the plain cassareep on the market during the holidays. He and Anessa got married in 2017 and by 2018, the business was established, initially on a part-time basis, while Forde continued to work as a taxi driver.
Forde said it was really Anessa who had the mindset of an entrepreneur as it was her idea. However, she only handles the accounts of the business as she is employed full time in a government job.
He said that prior to establishing the business, he assisted his mother, who was a vendor at a school canteen. However, at the inception of the pandemic last year, sales began increasing, which resulted in Forde dropping his taxi job to focus solely on his business. Asked whether he thought it was the pandemic that impacted his business positively, the entrepreneur said he did not believe so as he was sure that it was his growing commitment and consistency that saw sales increasing.
He shared that at the beginning of his business, he relied on two Black and Decker blenders which worked faithfully until one night, they both conked out. The following day he bought an industrial blender, which he still uses today. Forde’s responsibilities include him shopping for the ingredients, making the products, packaging, and taking and fulfilling orders. His day usually begins at two or three in the morning.
Every day, Forde receives calls and emails from supermarkets placing new orders for him to fill and every week he makes new batches of green seasoning and pepper sauce. At the time he spoke with this newspaper he was about to fill an order for six cases of pepper sauce. He said he had received additional orders for 200 bottles of pepper sauce. On average, Forde fills orders for more than 1,000 products every month. Massy Supermarket, he said, places the most orders.
He noted that though his seasoning and pepper sauce have a year’s shelf life each, they are usually gone from the shelves at the supermarkets within three weeks. His cassareep, on the other hand, can last as long as four years. Forde explained that the longer the cassareep remains in the bottle, the more it is cured.
He gets his peppers at market, though he mentioned that he also planted 50 buckets of pepper plants which are all bearing abundantly. Meanwhile, he purchases his cassareep from relatives in Victoria, East Coast Demerara. His products are packaged in plastic bottles which are purchased from a store on Water Street, while another local business designs and prints his labels.
The Fordes currently operate out of their home at Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara, but with the business expanding, Forde said they hope to work on opening a factory and employ staff.
The wholesale prices for his cassareep are $300 for a 282 ml bottle, $800 for 500 ml and $1,560 for 1,000 ml. Forde said that since establishing his business, the prices for the products have remained the same. He explained that even when the prices for eschallots and celery on the market skyrocketed, he maintained his prices. Asked how he was able to do this, the entrepreneur said that from the beginning he set his prices with the understanding that prices for ingredients can fluctuate.
Forde shared that there are other recipes that Anessa has created for new products but with his many responsibilities, their introduction is being delayed. He has plans to launch two more products, including fruit flavoured hot sauces, in the new year. Recently, he introduced a meat marinade product that is currently available at Coss Cutters Supermarket.
“But, I have more recipes. My wife, she creates all of the recipes and I thank God for her,” said Forde.
The businessman noted that a small business can be challenging because there are not enough hands to assist with the labour involved.
“[Nonetheless] to those new entrepreneurs, I just want to say, hold your focus, give your product 100% and give it your best shot. Whatever you sell, know that people are looking for quality products,” admonished Forde.
Forde can be reached via email at kelvintaste@gmail.com or 647-4230 0r 627-3564.