Chocolate can be listed as a passion for most people, but Barbadian chocolatier Melissia Batson has managed to turn her love for it into a fast-growing enterprise.

Melissia is the founder of JEM’s Gourmet Chocolates and the creator of Infusion Dark Chocolate Bars.

JEM’s specialises in chocolate-dipped strawberries, truffles and edible fruit arrangements, but it remained a part-time activity until Melissia lost her job in 2015.

Since then, Melissia has worked hard to establish the business and even decided to make her brand of chocolate bars inspired by Barbados.

Yello asked Melissia to share her entrepreneurial story.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I grew up in a small village in St Philip called Bayfield.

I lived with my parents and brother. My mother was very strict and enforced the importance of a good education. Bajan dialect was frowned on, but I’m glad she moulded me that way, because today I understand that it has its place.

I went to Bayley’s Primary School, then Louis Lynch Secondary School. I finally ended my education in 2007 with studies in business and gained a Private Secretary’s Diploma.

What were your interests / hobbies when you were young?

I was very quiet as a child, but I loved and still love the outdoors, travelling and reading. I also still enjoy cooking.

Did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

No actually. Becoming an entrepreneur was a matter of urgency. I was trying to find a way to make extra money since I recently lost my job.

I started offering virtual administration assistance, but that didn’t last too long, so I found myself becoming interested in working with chocolate.

Why did you start JEM’S Gourmet Chocolates?

As a way to honour my mother, who died of lung cancer, I started JEM’s with a ‘Berries for Life Campaign’.

I learned that dark chocolate and strawberries are good for fighting cancer, and that’s when I decided to learn how to dip strawberries in chocolate. That was in 2008, but I didn’t turn JEM’s into a full-time business until 2015.

What products do you offer?

Our main products are gourmet chocolate-dipped strawberries, edible fruit arrangements and recently our Infusion Dark Chocolate Bars.

We also do chocolate truffles, Oreo truffles, dipped pineapple (flowers/hearts) and marshmallow pops.

What’s the toughest challenge you faced setting up the business? How did you overcome it?

There were so many, but the toughest was finding support. Having someone in your corner who sees your vision and helps you to achieve your goals.

Sadly, and all too often, that only happens when people start to see what you’ve accomplished after the many days and nights in tears.

But that’s why being an entrepreneur takes a special type of person. Someone who never gives up, no matter how tough it gets!

Tell us why/when you started to manufacture Infusion Dark Chocolate Bars.

Edible fruit arrangements and chocolate dipped strawberries are usually ordered for special days like birthdays, anniversaries etc which meant I could go days, or sometimes weeks, without an order. That’s when I decided to look at a product that can be retailed and started the Infusion Chocolate Bars.

I first introduced them at NIFCA in 2017, and we won the Governor General’s award with the then ‘Mount Gay XO’ flavour and silver and bronze with the other flavours.

Our main purpose with the flavours is to infuse ‘Barbadiana’ with chocolate. Each flavour gives a little history or fun fact as it relates to Barbados.

It’s a unique marketing strategy, and since we do have a few chocolatiers on the island, it was a way to separate us from the rest.

How do you come up with the flavours?

Once it can be found, manufactured or grown in Barbados, we infuse those flavours with our chocolate.

So far, we’ve got pomegranate, dried fruit, cashew cluster, Old Brigand Rum and Crisma Rum Cream.

How has the business been developing?

Slowly but steadily! Every day is a day to look for new ways and ideas to develop the business.

Where can people find your products?

Our Infusion Dark Chocolate Bars can be found at The Barbados Museum, Dover Mart, Massy Superstores and hopefully in a few other stores around the island.

Our bars are also distributed to several duty-free locations by R. L. Seale Distribution Ltd. It’s best to follow us on Instagram or Facebook for updates.

Our edibles and dipped treats can be ordered via our social media.

Is there anything you wished you’d known before you started?

That business in Barbados is not as easy as it seems, which is probably why people try to discourage you from running one because the system is not built to support business owners.

There seems to have been a shift in that recently, but we still have a way to go.

What are your plans for the next five years?

I would love to purchase machinery to increase our manufacturing capacity. With that said, we’d like to have a small space to manufacture our bars and other chocolate products.

Right now, we do everything by hand, so anything that can help make work even more efficient would be the aim at this point.

What do you like most about being an entrepreneur?

First and foremost, I’m a wife and mother. So being able to take care of my family, while doing what I love, is very rewarding.

Sometimes my husband and children may suffer from lack of attention because of my work, but I love that my time is flexible, even though not always available.

Who are the chocolatiers/entrepreneurs you admire?

Mrs Wendy Abed, the Green Monkey Chocolatier. She’s been encouraging me, and congratulating me on my milestones in business, and that means a lot to me.

What do you love about Barbados?

Most of all, despite everything that may go on, there’s always a sense of community. We may not agree on everything, but we come together when it matters.

Barbados is home! I travelled a lot in my younger days but there’s no place like Barbados.

Where do you go to relax on your days off?

I’m a homebody. I rarely go out but if I do, it’s to the movies. I love watching a good action film or comedy.

If I can’t go out, because of other duties and responsibilities, I have movie nights at home.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Be prepared to fail! However, try to see failure as a lesson of what not to do, or what you can do to make your business better.

I’ve failed many times. But it’s then you must resolve not to give up and not to give in.

Be passionate about what it is that you set out to do.

Understand that your customers are your lifeline, so treat them well!

Have standards for yourself and your business and never settle for less.

What is your philosophy/motto in life?

Don’t give up. The best is yet to come!

You can contact Melissia at JEM’S Gourmet Chocolates via the website, Facebook and Instagram.