PEPPER IS SMALL IN QUANTITY AND GREAT IN VIRTUE.. Plato
“The pepper sauce Master “is what I would like to call this 28 year old, class mate of mine whose smile is as broad as day as we sit and the interview begins, but he’s congenially known as Big G as it resonates throughout his career.
Big G is a business that is a creative and innovative one , creating and developing new flavors in hot sauces, seasoning sauces , all purpose sauce and smoke products.
Grason John attended the Grand Bay Secondary School and moved on to study Agriculture at the Dominica State College where his love for aggro processing and culinary arts grew. Grason’s love for cooking led him to be a caterer at weddings, birthdays and other functions, and also a teacher of culinary classes to students ages 12- 17 every hot summer.
During his cooking Grason would experiment with the use of pepper in different sauces to compliment dishes, and it was there the idea for making flavored pepper sauce was birthed. In the year 2013, Big G enrolled in the Dominica Business Trust Training with the idea for producing flavored meat with pepper sauce production being something to undertake in the future. Fortunately having developed an acquired taste for what taste good he began making pepper sauce samples whom he distributed to many local markets.
Like any business person that wants to be successful, he knew he had to research the market before undertaking the venture, and he soon found out the cost of production would be pricey. Grason innovative idea of flavored pepper sauce, led to produce over 20 different flavors including coconut, mint, turmeric, cinnamon and coffee. Samples that left local supermarkets asking for more, it wasn’t a surprise that “Big G” won the Business Plan Innovative Award in November 2013.
From there he attended several trade shows in different Caribbean islands were his products were greatly received by the public. In the year 2015 Grason started supplying supermarkets around the island with amazing variety and prices from $12-$15(EC) his products was flying off the shelves
In 2016 PIICA funded his training in Trinidad and Big G began receiving more and more recognition and receiving awards for them as well. He received the Youth Business International & Regional Award, Start Up Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2015, Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016 and Best Quality and Best Innovative awards respectively from the Dominica Manufacturer’s Association.
With his mentor Brendon Defoe, founder and CEO of Braz Inc and his parents as his greatest role models, the sky wasn’t the limit for this ambitious talent,.With additional motivation stemming from his appreciative clients and their encouraging words, he keeps aiming higher and doing what he loves.
Though, he recalls his greatest setback being Tropical storm Erica in 2015, a disaster that destroyed several homes and families, devastating several of the island natural produce and preventing traffic to and from the village of Delices where he resides. Grason recalls struggling for months, as it was very hard for everyone.
Grason is gradually bouncing back as he enjoys what he does with a passion. What he enjoys most about being his own boss is the bliss of creating something people appreciate. The feedback he says is very positive and encouraging and he is quite glad he can contribute to his country’s economy and putting his village Delices on the map.
As the interview comes to an end, Grason encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to do something that they really love and don’t do it just for the money, be patient and have a passion for what you’re doing. You’re required to put in long hours at times and it requires love to put up with the demands .
Written by,
Laurna Guiste.
Grason John can be contacted via the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/graceson.john.3
laurnaguistepublicist 