My Visit To Marie Sharp's Factory in Stann Creek
It was a beautiful day and we set out early – me and my friend Kasper from Poland. He was a CouchSurfer and wanted to visit as many places in Belize as possible before heading to Guatemala the following week. So I offered him the opportunity of keeping up with me as I toured the country in search of new products for My Belize Box.
We were going to hitch a ride south on the Coastal Road – there are no buses yet serving the newly paved coastal road. Not to worry, we got a lift in no time from a guy in a small truck. Hitching is also a great way to meet people, many of them have fascinating stories to tell.
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Marie Sharp's Factory
20 miles further down the road and we joined the Hummingbird Highway for the last mile or so to our first destination, Marie Sharp’s hot sauce factory. My great friend from university days was now the manager at Marie Sharp’s so I was hoping for a deeper insight.
Marie Sharp's Taste Tour
First, we enjoyed a Taste Tour of all the products Marie Sharp currently produces. It is her way of staying in tune with her customers’ needs and feeling current trends. Very smart. Of the 20 or so products to test, I loved the green habanero pepper sauces and fruit wines, Kasper went for the hot pepper sauce and jellies.
My favorite products were the Nopal Green Habanero Pepper Sauce, Belizean Heat Pepper Sauce, Plantain Wine, and Green Habanero Pepper Jelly.
Marie Sharp's Factory Tour
Next, it was donning a hair cap and mask to enter the processing plant itself. No cameras or recording devices were allowed in with us. Some of the latest equipment has just been installed, all extremely high-tec to streamline production. After all, Marie Sharp sells to over 30 countries – and from such humble beginnings.
Marie Sharp's Back History
Did you know? Marie Sharp practically fell into the business of hot sauce production, it was all a bit of an accident. Someone had ordered a few hundred pounds of habanero chili peppers from farms in the Stan Creek area, but when the customer only took one 100 lb bag, Marie Sharp wondered what she would do with the surplus… And the rest is history.
Marie Sharp's Products
It was midday when we left Marie Sharp’s with a couple of bottles of a her hidden creation, plantain and wax apple wine. Then it was on to Dangriga town a few miles east on the coast, home of all things Garifuna.
To shop Marie Sharp’s Pepper Sauces visit
