Having A Heart Felt Social Responsibility...

What is the purpose of the business?

The purpose of the business is three-fold:

Firstly, we aim to be Guyana’s first home grown Soursop fruit and leaf extract powder company.

Second of all we want to run a company that increases opportunities for farmers and employees alike.

Lastly, to make consumer packaged goods that Guyanese seek out, by giving consumers more opportunities in terms of local quality products, while at the same time reducing the stigma of made in Guyana.

What is the vision for Swift soursop?

We want to, at scale, provide 25% of the soursop market in the country within the next 10 years.

Tell me more about the future plan and what makes Swift soursop, different from other food processing companies?

We are fully integrated across the value chain. We have a nucleus farm and plan to work with a network of farmers and out growers that we work closely with.

We will provide a lot of input to the farmers with through providing seedlings, through training on fertilizer use and irrigation to optimize yields.

Our goal is for all our employees to feel that they are part of the company. We try to make decision-making as inclusive a process as possible.

Through our work with the farmers to increase their yields we are able to increase their incomes.

How many Soursop does it take to make one kilo of soursop fruit extract powder?

To make one kilo of soursop fruit extract powder you need 30 soursop fruit.

When do expect to have your first products on the market?

We have started small. We have already carried out a lean canvas and are currently underway with a test production of 3 kilos or soursop fruit extract and soursop leaf powder, which we will sell both online and in local markets. We are very keen to begin to distribute and sell, and not least interact with local consumers.

In the meantime we are testing our powders with focus groups and so far the feedback we have received has been really positive and with high scores for taste. We have also been doing a number of recipe tests where we are happy to say that the taste was superb.

In reality the product is ready, we just need to finalise a couple of minor details in terms of the packaging and then we will be ready to officially launch our range of Swift soursop powders .

What sort of clients are you targeting?

Local markets will be our first point of entry. 70-80% of consumption in Guyana happens at local markets.

Outside Guyana our initial focus will be geared towards E-commerce

What has been your biggest inspiration?

My grand mother. The life and soul of the party, Grandma was always immaculately presented, generous with her time, beloved by her friends and she was the rock of our family. She was truly an inspiration and my hero.

On 21st December 2020 my world came crashing down when my grand mother, was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. A woman who had never had so much as a cold before was given just 3 months to live. My grand mother began a course of chemotherapy treatment to stave off the spread of the disease, but she was keen to research the potential benefits of alternative medicine and holistic treatments as well. The one stand out was Soursop. We all learned the five most important words associated with the health benefits of Soursop:

Tannins

Acetogenins

Saponins

Phytosterols

Flavonoids 

Without much convincing, Grandma was quick to adopt her routine the daily consumption of Soursop fruit and tea. I witnessed first-hand how Soursop helped with my grand mother’s sense of calm and relaxed demeanour in what should have been a horrific time of her life. Most importantly she could sleep. With coming to terms with this new terrifying reality, sleep went out the window. Soursop brought this key component of health back. I was amazed.

The three month land mark we were given came and went. Grandma was still with us. We knew we weren’t out of the woods but for me this spiky green fruit that looks like something you would find in sci-fi show, gave my family and I the gift of time, time we all felt we otherwise shouldn’t have had. And we made each and every priceless day count as much as we could.

Sadly, my Grandma passed away a year after her diagnosis, a whole 9 additional months. The vacuum she has left will never be filled but I must say that whenever she pops into my head I feel so unbelievably proud of her and her willingness to keep going right to the very end.  

After her passing, Grandma left our family 5 acres of agricultural farming land in Berbice, Guyana.

It is our dream to revive the farm and bring it back to its former glory with the primary produce being Grandma’s beloved Soursop.

#soursop #SoursopPowder #Superfood #NaturalHealth #OrganicSuperfood #HealthyLiving #NaturalRemedies #HolisticHealth #PlantBased #HealthBenefits #NaturalWellness #HealthyLifestyle #ImmunityBoost #CleanEating #HealthyRecipes #Nutrition #FitnessNutrition #EcoFriendly #WellnessJourney #Detox #HealthyChoices #VeganSupplements