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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Business Feature: DnV Jamaican Seasonings - Delphine Drake

I am trying to take part of an idea I got from Jeremy Miller’s blog format where he puts a business in the spotlight.  Jeremy Miller of Sticky Branding tends to target larger companies than I do, but I think it’s a great idea.

This Week’s Featured Business: Delphine Drake of DnV Jamaican Seasonings

Delphine Drake is from Jamaica, and she owns DnV Jamaican Seasonings.

If you like to get an authentic taste of Jamaica, you might be interested in how she got started and some business and marketing tips from her perspective.

If you would rather read than watch a video, below I provide some of her background and summarize the notes I took from that interview at her booth at Detroit’s Eastern Market.  (She even has that cool Jamaican accent!)




An Introduction to Delphine of DnV Jamaican Seasonings
I met Delphine several years ago, and she’s always been a motivated entrepreneur.  She is always willing to test new things to find what her market really wants.  Delphine had owned and run several businesses and organizations, but her strongest business is DnV Jamaican Seasonings.

Delphine began her company DnV Jamaican Seasonings (http://DnVJamaicanSeasonings.com) in 2010.  Something that has always caught my attention about her is that she is not even from the United States, yet she has found a way to create a business for herself here.  So she has some unique insight about business.  She is a hustler in every good sense of that term.

You can buy her products in different grocery stores around Detroit and the Metro Area, visit her at different farmer’s markets (including Eastern Market – Shed #3), or you can order from her online.

Notes from the Interview

She created a company, DnV Jamaican Seasonings in 2010.
DnV makes Jamaican jerk seasoning, curry powder, oxtail seasoning, and many other Jamaican seasonings.  The company also makes (very) hot pickled pepper sauce.

Reason Delphine started the Business:
Once she was here in the United States, she was looking for Jamaican seasonings and other good seasonings without a lot of salt.  At the time, she could not find any; so so she started her own company.

What makes her company and products unique?
Delpine of DnV Jamaican seasonings manufactures her own seasonings with seasoning recipes from Jamaica.  Plus, she buys her products locally (mostly in Michigan-United States).

She gets many reviews of the customers loving the way food tastes when they cook with her spices.  (She even had a customer come in the middle of my interview to tell Delphine how good her product is!)

Delphine’s Suggestions for People Starting a Business Today:
“You have to love what you do.  When you love what you do, the money will come later.”

“We all go into business to make money.  When you love what you do, you will put your love in your product, like I put into my seasoning…and the customers enjoy it, and go from there.”

“Be sure to research your product (including everything you might use in your products you’re selling).”

“Know your business.  Be a part of it.  Don’t go into something that you don’t know anything about.”

What did she do to market her business in the early days?
Delphine would find places to sell her spices and sell it as often as she could.  Basically, she hustled to sell any place that would let her sell her seasonings.

How does she market her business today?
Eastern Market (one of the LARGEST farmer's markets in North America)
Farmers Markets
Products are on Several Grocery Stores Shelves

A Few Grocery Stores that Sell DnV’s Products

What did it take to get into the stores?
--Have good products
--Talk to the buyers, maybe even find the manager running the department that is most likely to sell your product.  (i.e. If you have baked goods, visit the manager of the bakery section.)

In Delphine’s specific case, by offering Jamaican seasonings she offers something that is unique and healthy, which are two major hot buttons within many grocery stores, especially specialty type of stores.

What is the one thing people should try from DnV Jamaican Seasonings?
The jerk seasoning.  Everyone loves Jamaican jerk seasoning, and it’s good on everything…whatever you can cook, you can use jerk seasoning on it (i.e. spaghetti, pork, eggs, chicken, fish, vegatables).”

1. Regular (No pepper)
2. HOT
3. NO Salt

How to Order Spices, Peppers, or her Recipe Book Online

How to Connect with Delphine Drake of DnV Jamaican Seasonings

Phone: (248) 808-3010

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