The 'sweet' story behind Patria-Kaye Aarons

A true go-getter, Patria-Kaye Aarons has been relentless in her endeavour to make her dreams a reality. Having already made her mark in the corporate arena working for two of the country's biggest corporate giants, Digicel and GraceKennedy, the marketing guru is now looking to churn success in the unlikeliest of pursuits - candymaking.

But it may not be such an unlikely one for Aarons. She told Flair that anyone who knows her would not be surprised by her current sweet-tooth craze turned business venture.

You probably know her best as a presenter on CVM Television, but this driven self-motivator is a woman of many talents. Aarons also has the credit of being a stage actress, but currently her main focus has been occupied with bringing her fledgling company, Sweetie Confectionery, to life.

In what she abridged as a "huge leap of faith", in an exclusive interview with Flair, Aarons who left her position as Sponsorship and Communications Manager at GraceKennedy to follow her sweet dreams, explained how the seed was planted two years ago while buying candy for her goddaughter.

FILLING A VOID

Lamenting the absence of authentic Jamaican candy flavours, she felt compelled to do something about the void. Around that same time, she remembers sitting down and discussing the issue and her ideas with Jamaica's only remaining commercial confectionery manufacturer, Paul Lue-Yen of Miel.

The line of sugar candy is expected to be launched next month, and Aarons premiered them at the recent Jamaica Manufacturers' Association/Jamaica Export Association expo. Most of the labour takes place on the island, with Lue-Yen's factory handling production, but the oils used to flavour the candy are imported from the United States.

Sweetie Confectionery will break into the market with five exotic flavours: guava, jackfruit, mango, june plum and pomegranate. Aarons hinted that considerations are also being made for a line of sour candy to be launched at a later date, which would include flavours like tamarind and jimbilin/carambola.

"The flavours are not synthetic. They are natural oils extracted from the fruits themselves, and we had to do a lot of taste testing and experimentation to find a supplier that could get it right and to make sure that the flavours were as close to the fruit as possible," Aarons said, describing the roller-coaster process which resulted in the final product. Her enthusiasm was palpable as she is eager for everyone to try the fruits - or more appropriately sweets - of her labour.

Imagine savouring a mango bonbon outside of mango season. Or members of the diaspora enjoying the taste of their favourite fruit from Jamaica that they probably have not had in a while, in the form of a sugary delight. For this to happen, Aarons admits that her business will need to do some considerable expansion but the visionary sees Sweetie Confectionery having a positive impact on Jamaica's downtrodden economy.

"Every entrepreneur you talk to will tell you that financing is a huge issue for them. It was easier for me to get a car loan than it was to get a loan to finance my business," she stated, highlighting the fact that there are many other entrepreneurs in Jamaica with brilliant ideas, who might not be able to breathe life into their visions because of lack of funding. Aarons revealed that it was through leaving her job and funnelling her own pension fund into the business, that she was able to raise the capital she needed.

As a marketing pundit, Aarons expressed that the product image is as important to her as capturing authentic flavours and finding the right consistency for the line. The sweets will come individually wrapped and packaged in 1/2 pound and one pound bags bearing the Jamaican flag.

"I need to be proud when I see a Sweetie bag with its 'made in Jamaica' stamp standing next to a Jolly Rancher bag. I want to feel like - 'yes, this product belongs beside this next product and is in no way inferior.' I know it's being produced in a third world country, but it should look and taste like a first world product," the business savant expressed with unbridled passion.She credits OGM's advertising department with creating the logo and packaging design that she knows Jamaicans everywhere will be proud of.

Needless to say Aarons didn't make the journey alone. She expressed her gratitude to the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) and the Scientific Research Centre for their part and the start-up process and the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship which helped to build on her business prowess and equip her with the know-how to segue from marketer extraordinaire to CEO.

According to Aarons her business is built on; Jamaica first, and product excellence and happy employees. Highlighting the latter she beamed: "Happy people make good candy."

The name Sweetie comes as no big surprise as almost every Jamaican will instantly recognise the local vernacular for candy. Whether or not Aarons will rise to Willy Wonka status, only time will tell, but the response from Sweetie samplings has been so good that she feels comfortable joking about having no regrets about investing her pension.

grandsison.garfene@gleanerjm.com