After years of service in corporate Jamaica, Tiamoyo Lyn has found her passion in the manufacturing of hot and spicy sauces.

Her company, Miss Dutchie, was created in 2016 when Lyn decided to produce a hot pepper jelly that provided an even spicier ‘kick’ than those on the market. Today, the Immaculate Conception High School graduate is the producer of five products; a barbeque jerk sauce, jerk marinade, island hot pepper sauce, jerk seasoning and the company’s best seller, the Scotch bonnet pepper jelly.

“It was hard to find a pepper jelly that was spicy. When I hear the word pepper, I think hot and spicy but most of them are really sweet and don’t really have that kick that you need because the manufacturers use sweet pepper.

“So I just decided one day to try my own; it took several attempts but I made it,” Lyn told the Jamaica Observer.

She now has plans to expand her product line with the launch of a new product by year-end and is eyeing export of the Miss Dutchie current line of products to the United States. Lyn intends on using Amazon as the mode of entry to the US but is keen on ramping up distribution to secure a customer base in the European market.

As for the local market, the Miss Dutchie founder is aggressive on getting shelf space in supermarkets, and is looking for a distributor to assist her with that process. Currently, the Miss Dutchie line of products can be found in Things Jamaican at Devon House and the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA).

The products are priced between $250 and $450.

“Sales at NMIA have been pretty good. I have both people from the diaspora and international guests buying the products. The pepper jelly though, is a real good seller for both locations,” she said.

Like most young entrepreneurs, Lyn started out selling her products to family members and friends before signing up to become an exhibitor at the Ministry of Tourism’s linkage hub initiative, Christmas in July. The event, which featured a wide variety of Jamaican products available not only to the local tourism sector but to the wide export market, gave Lyn the exposure she needed to increase sales.

That aside, the young entrepreneur also benefited from training sessions with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC).

“JBDC is essential for young entrepreneurs. For me, their help with labels was a big step. If you don’t understand the size of the fonts and what you need on the labels, they are the ones that will help you, and by working with the JBDC I got 50 per cent off at the Bureau of Standards, so my caloric and micro-bead testings, for all of the tests I got 50 per cent off,” she told Sunday Finance.

While she is not formally trained in the manufacturing of sauces, Lyn said she developed a love for creating spices from her father. She has identified the most challenging aspect of the business as the buy-in for pepper jelly.

“Not a lot of people are exposed to it, so I have to come up with ideas for them to try it. I sample it with crackers and cheese, in sandwiches and I’ve also done it as a glaze for Christmas hams.

“One customer told me that she fried chicken and then glazed it with the pepper jelly. So as a means of promoting the product I put recipes on my social media pages,” she said.

Lyn is now working with chefs across Jamaica to get a toehold into Jamaica’s restaurant and hotel sectors.