Marie Sharp's facts for kids
Marie Sharp's Fine Foods Ltd., often called Marie Sharp's, is a company that makes plant-based sauces and jams. It is located in the Stann Creek District of Belize, a country in Central America. This company is owned by women and is famous for its special habanero pepper sauces. These sauces are made with carrots and have a true Caribbean flavor. Marie Sharp's hot sauces are known around the world for being very tasty.
The company makes many different kinds of sauces. They use fresh fruits and vegetables grown on farms, like carrots, oranges, grapefruits, nopales (cactus pads), tamarind, mango, and pineapple. These are mixed with crushed habanero peppers or other chili peppers.
Marie Sharp's habanero pepper sauces are sold in over 30 countries.
Marie Sharp's USA, LLC was started in 2019 by Sonia and Michael Touby. Their job is to sell and share Marie Sharp's products in the United States. Michael Touby had worked with Marie Sharp before, back in the 1980s. He met her again in 2016 and decided to help her business grow in the U.S. Marie Sharp's USA is a business certified as woman-owned.
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History of Marie Sharp's
Marie Sharp, who was 81 years old in 2021, owns the company herself. She started selling her sauces locally from her 400-acre farm, Melinda Estates, near Dangriga in 1981. Because more and more people wanted her sauces, a factory was built in 1985. This factory is now a popular place for tourists to visit. Marie Sharp's products were the first successful farm products made and sold from Belize to other countries.
Her first sauce was called "Melinda’s Hot Sauce." This name came from her family farm, Melinda Reserve. In 1989, Marie's recipe was the first habanero pepper sauce to be sold all over the United States. However, the company that was selling her sauce, Figueroa International Inc., took the name "Melinda's Hot Sauce" for themselves. This meant Marie Sharp was cut out of her own business.
After five years, Marie Sharp decided to give up the name "Melinda's Original Habanero Pepper sauce." In return, she was freed from her contract with the importer. She then started selling her products under her own name, Marie Sharp's. Since then, her sauces are sold not just in Belize, but also in many parts of Central and North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
In 2013, Marie Sharp's products were chosen for the "Taste13 Showcase" at the Anuga Food Fair in Cologne, Germany. This is the world's largest food fair, and her products were among the top three. By 2014, Marie Sharp's sales reached $3.8 million. In 2016, Marie Sharp herself was honored and added to the Hot Sauce Hall of Fame. That same year, the company launched a new sauce called "Smokin' Marie's." This sauce has a smoky flavor from habanero peppers smoked with orange, grapefruit, guava, and craboo wood.
On February 14, 2019, Marie Sharp's company worked with the US Embassy in Belize to launch a new pineapple pepper sauce called "Pure Love." This sauce was created to help fight gender-based violence. A part of the money from selling "Pure Love" goes to Haven House. This is a non-profit shelter that helps victims of domestic violence. It helps them to take control of their lives and make positive changes.
How Marie Sharp's Sauces Are Made
Marie Sharp first started making hot sauce at home. She used hand blenders in Pomona Village, where she lived with her husband, Gerry Sharp. In 2021, Marie Sharp celebrated 40 years of making sauces!
Sauce Flavors
Marie Sharp does not use fermented peppers in her recipes. Instead, her sauces are made with fresh fruits and vegetables. These ingredients are cooked slowly for many hours. This process makes the sauces smooth and rich, and you can still see small pieces of the vegetables in them.
Jelly, Jam, Chutney, and Salsa
In 1982, Marie Sharp found that her farm had a lot of extra fruit. She visited local markets to get ideas for new products she and other farmers could make to sell more. She noticed that all the jams, jellies, and marmalades sold in stores were made from fruits that were not tropical. This gave her an idea!
She started trying out new recipes. She made products with more fruit than the US Food and Drug Administration required. She also made sure her products had no preservatives. Marie Sharp's now makes many kinds of preserves, which are sold both in Belize and around the world.
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