British Consumers Sample St. Lucian Food and Drinks.
VIKING Traders Limited, a family owned and operated food and drinks company from St. Lucia, recently gave British consumers and distributors the opportunity to sample authentic flavours of the Caribbean.
The company attended the “Taste of Saint Lucia” and the “Best of Yorkshire” event held at the Drewton Estate in South Yorkshire .
This unique event, which was co-hosted by the British- Caribbean Chamber of Commerce (BCCC) and the Saint Lucia Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA), showcased Saint Lucian products with an exhibition and a formal dinner. VIP guests included Lord Howard of Lympne Honorary Patron of the British-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, Dominic Fedee , Saint Lucia’s Minister of Tourism, Susan Cunliffe-Lister, the Lord Lieutenant of the Easting Riding of Yorkshire, Sir Geoffrey Boycott and Mr. John Kennedy , President of the BCCC.
The main aim of the BCCC is to strengthen relationships between Great Britain and the Caribbean islands. The organisation plays an integral part in the success of bridging the relationship the Caribbean islands share with Great Britain and together with the Saint Lucia Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA) they continue to seek opportunities to increase the exports of local products and services to the UK market.
Minister Fedee said: “I am most proud of how Viking Traders and other local manufacturers represented us in the UK at the initiative in Yorkshire. It’s how we can continue to solidify our tourism product. People like to travel and experience new and interesting flavours and our food processing sector is important in this regard. The world has moved away from vacations and is looking for experiences. Travellers are demanding more and are looking for opportunities to discover new cultures so our cuisine is an important component of this”.
Proprietor of Drewton’s Estate, Ms. Katie Taylor said: “It was an honour and pleasure to work with the Hull & Chamber of Commerce, TEPA and Viking Traders Limited to promote St. Lucia and its fabulous food and drinks products over the course of a full weekend in October. The VIP dinner was a huge success and it was a great challenge to incorporate the Viking products in our four-course menu, with a Yorkshire twist. Likewise, we held an event for customers the following evening and, again, we used the products in a similar fashion. During the daytime, we held food and drink tastings with our customers and Gizelle from Viking Traders Limited spoke to many people about the products, the origin and story of each product. The Viking Caribbean rum cake and banana ketchup were favourites but my personal favourites were the Viking Caribbean pepper spice which is delicious and the rich and creamy El Coco Rico coconut cream, both being so versatile! We gained positive written feedback from customers which is being shared with the producers and we hope to continue a great relationship with St. Lucia.”
Marketing Director of Viking Traders, Ms. GizelleFleischhacker said: “It was an honour to attend the dinner at Drewton’s Estate and showcase the Viking products. Guests and customers that were invited enjoyed the event.
“Everyone felt at home with the Caribbean flair in Yorkshire as a group of youngsters with their teacher played the steel pan outside in the not too similar temperatures of Saint Lucia. We were absolutely thrilled at how well the British public received the Viking sauces and drinks. I look forward to upcoming events in the UK and the opportunity to present these flavourful spices, condiments, drinks, baking products and gift items to the UK market.”
Viking Traders Limited (St. Lucia) was established in 1979 by Bonnie and Edwin Zephirin. Since 1979 Viking Traders has been making a wide range of food and drink products in St. Lucia.
Today, the company manufactures a range of over 100 different award-winning, quality products, including specially blended herbs and spices, flavourful condiments, baking goods, drinks and gift items. The products are exported to customers around the world including North America (USA and Canada), Europe (UK, France and Germany) and across the Caribbean.