Local businesses thank 2022 Taiwan Expo for affording their products wider exposure

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, November 8, 2022 (MMS-SKN) — Eight local business exhibited at the 2022 Taiwan Expo in St. Kitts and Nevis which ended on Monday November 7, and the proprietors of these businesses are thanking the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for giving them a golden opportunity to expose their products not only locally but to the Asia country.

The eight local businesses, which were accorded the opportunity to exhibit at the Expo at no charge to them, were Hibiscus Spirits; Sugar Town Organics; Sassy V. Collectibles; The Emerald; SKN Hosting; Nature’s Best; Espo Water Solutions; and Esthetics Beauty Parlor.

“The goal is to ensure that local entrepreneurs benefit from this event as well and that they will also have the chance to be connected to the private sector of Taiwan, thus advancing our common goal of mutual prosperity,” Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), His Excellency Michael Chau-Horng Lin, had stated on Saturday, November 5 at the opening ceremony of the exhibition that was held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.

Seasoned manufacturer of hair care products, bath and body skin care products, baby products, and food products, Ms Anastasia Elliott who is the CEO of Sugar Town Organics, said that her establishment was founded in 2010 and launched its first product line in 2015 in St. Kitts. She has an outlet at the Pelican Mall in downtown Basseterre.

While she has been to several expos all around the world, it was the first time she had exhibited at the Taiwan Expo in St. Kitts and Nevis. She has however been sending her products to Taiwan through St. Kitts and Nevis embassy there, and the products are exhibited at the expos in that country.

“This Expo was quite timely, especially coming off of the two trips that I just did abroad,” said Ms. Elliott who had participated in the Speciality and Fine Food Fair in September in London, and SIAL Paris in October. “We were able to meet a bit more of the Taiwanese people here, and to really have a discussion with them because it was my very first time meeting so many of them at the same time.”

Out of Nevis was Mrs. Camesha Morton of Nature’s Best, an organic skincare and wellness brand which was founded on the principle of‘ healthy body equals a healthy life. They cater to persons with skin conditions such as eczema and acne, dermatitis, and dandruff, as they have a wide range of products, including shampoo, conditioners, hair oils, body lotions, deodorants, body scrubs, herbal tonics, and face masks.

Nature’s Best came about as a result of Covid-19 as Mrs. Morton had a salon where she did hair and nails but business came to a near standstill. Saying she could not leave her husband Mr. Randy Morton to struggle as the sole breadwinner she started to study in order to produce the items she now offers. With the relaxation of the Covid-19 regulations, the salon is now up and running, but business is only by appointment. Her business is located on Government Road, in Charlestown, below the Alexandra Hospital.

She was selected to exhibit at the 2022 Taiwan Export on account of her having been the second-placed winner for St. Kitts and Nevis in the 2021 Global Entrepreneurship competition that is organised by the Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods (COESL).

“I want to thank the Taiwanese for partnering with COESL who allowed us to be here at the Expo,” said Mrs. Morton. “It was quite a great experience and we met quite a few persons, new customers, returning customers, persons who had great reviews and feedback about our products and we just want to say a big thank you.”

Tapp Water Caribbean and Espo Water Solution, a company that is seeking to cooperate with St. Kitts and Nevis Solid Waste Management and Recycling Project, which is funded by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) through the Technical Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to St. Kitts and Nevis, to reduce the use of plastics in the Federation, is one of the businesses that exhibited at the Expo.

“We both want to work together,” said Tapp Water Caribbean Project Manager, Mr. Chris Stichnothe. “We are both trying to get this done and in the end ultimately the same goal is to reduce the amount of single-use plastic. Ms Joyce Chang (Project Manager, Let’s Recycle St. Kitts and Nevis) and the Taiwanese are doing it differently – the recycling programme which I think is great.”

His company is on the other hand trying to eliminate single-use plastic altogether by providing affordable filtered water at people’s homes, schools, or offices. He however recommended that if they cannot go the way of filtering the water, they then have the option to recycle all those plastic water bottles.

“Participation here has been extremely wonderful – we had a lot of people stop by the booth,” said Mr. Stichnothe. “As for purchasing products, we sold a lot of products over the weekend which is great. A lot of people asked how it works, price points, how they can get it at home, and a lot of people wanted to taste the water too.”

During the opening ceremony on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education the Hon Dr Geoffrey Hanley without revealing the name praised a business taking part in the Expo which he had earlier that week given an okay to do business with the Ministry of Education.

The company is SKN Hosting, a software and development company, that develops websites, applications, solutions, and everyday problems, according to its CEO Mr. Ozri Rawlins.

“I am the current winner of the Global Entrepreneurship Competition in St. Kitts and Nevis, in which I made a pitch on smart and integrated agriculture,” said Mr. Rawlins. “I am also the developer of a new system we will be implementing in the country which is the Education Management System and School Management System. As a partnership, we monitor Nevis Water Department, all their pumps, wells and their systems, and we monitor the hospital in Nevis, their electric meter system. We aim to bring technology to the everyday person.”