For local small and micro businesses, simply surviving the ravages of the current rampaging COVID-19 will be a considerable achievement. The odds, in just about every department are stacked against them; what remains, in some instances is sheer will and a ‘logic’ that says ‘we have come too far to give up now.’
If you understand the stories behind the origins of the mostly women-run local micro and small businesses, particularly in the agro processing sector, you are likely to get a sense of where the will and determination of their proprietors come from. They derived, in many, perhaps most instances from desperate searches for options to destitution. Once you understand that you come closer to appreciating a perspective that sees COVID-19, for all its rampaging as just another hurdle to get across.
Anne Bristol-Peters is not indifferent to COVID-19. Rather, she appears to be possessed of a mindset that sees the malady as just another hurdle to cross. The journey that she has traveled with her seven year-old enterprise, Anne’s Products has taken her down demanding paths over the years. Over time she has been a Cake Decorator, Baker, Florist, Cook and Cosmetologist, among other things. You get the impression that Anne’s products is her last defiant stand.
She had embarked on her still incomplete journey in 2013 from her home at Hope Low Lands on the East Coast Demerara. In those days her business was confined to pepper sauce. The product had derived from the recommendations of friends and relatives at home and abroad who had been beneficiaries of her samples.
Production may have started with a kitchen blender but the market responded to what Anne was offering and she has seen some measure of growth. These days, pepper sauce aside, her range includes Casareep, Preserved Fruit, Chinese Sauce, Fruit Cake Mix, Green Seasonings and Mauby.
Growth is a constant preoccupation. Over time, she has pushed her market beyond Region Four, pushing on into Essequibo, Berbice, Linden and Bartica. A sturdy overseas market remains an as yet unrealized ambition. The challenge, she explains, is that in Canada, for example, supply volumes fall well short of demand. Still, she maintains a modest footprint on the North American market through friends and relatives.
She values the exposure afforded by the GMC’s Guyana Shop highly. It is an opportunity for her products to benefit from the visibility afforded by exposure on the shelves of at least one Supermarket. In the Caribbean Anne’s products enjoy a modest market in St. Maarten.
While opportunities for exposure through international trade fairs are rare, she give generous marks to the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) for the marketing opportunity afforded her products through its UNCAPPED event.
Plans to upgrade her production centre have had to be pushed back on account of operating challenges arising from the onset of COVID-19. A reduction in sales which she puts at “around 40%” has, she says, left her with a greater concern linked to two still outstanding bank loans.
For all the challenges associated with keeping her sales on even keel Anne is particularly proud of the fact that, up until now, she has been able to retain their services by embarking on a rotation system. In times like these, she says, small and micro businesses ought to be able to anticipate support from both consumers and lending institutions.
Still, she presses on. Not unmindful of the patronage that she continues to receive and optimistic that she will emerge from the current challenge better for the experience.
Anne can be reached on telephone number 6297185
