St Lucian entrepreneur Alva Preville launched his business, ‘The Crafty Islander’, in September 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was causing chaos and uncertainty.

Alva was in the hospitality industry for years, working his way up from bartender to general manager, but he was now surviving on just 20% of his salary and had to find ways to supplement his income.

While considering his options, Alva decided to utilise his years of mixology experience to add his twist to a colonial-era-inspired product called a Shrub, a concentrated syrup that primarily consists of fresh fruits and vinegar.

Alva’s ‘Shrubs’ have been well received, and he has since added other items to ‘The Crafty Islander’ production line. Yello chatted to Alva about his new venture.

Describe yourself using three words.

Enthusiastic. Curious. Energetic.

Please tell us a bit about your background.

I was born in Choiseul in the south of the island. I moved to Castries when I was six years old, and I’ve been here ever since. I attended primary and secondary school, but I didn’t do any other schooling after that because I started working right away.

What were your initial career plans?

I wanted to be an architect. I was fascinated by what they do, especially creating plans, because I’m very technical. I love anything technical like woodwork or electrical.

After secondary school, I worked a few jobs. I started off as a merchandiser at one of the biggest supermarket chains on the island. Then I did some warehouse work.

In 2004, I found my way into the hotel industry as a waiter, and since then, I’ve worked my way upwards.

How did you initially get into bartending / mixology?

My role as a waiter was a temporary contract, so I started looking for permanent work. I ended up getting a job in a boutique hotel as a bar porter. I worked my way up to bartending and stayed there for a while.

At that time though, I was doing some soul searching and ended up changing career. I actually became a barber because I realised that I was good with my hands. I really wanted to try something else, even though I loved bartending.

I was a barber for two years, but then I started to get bored. I went back into the bar industry at a local club, and a few months later, I got a job at a popular bar on the island called ‘Delirious’. I was there for eight years and worked my way up from bartending to general manager.

What do you love about bartending / mixology?

Being the life of the party. When everyone is having fun, you are the centre of that, making it happen. Nightlife at Delirious was a lot of fun. Making cocktails and mixology was taken very seriously.

Everything I know about bartending came from being on the job. I’m a prime example of experience through practical work.

And when did you start taking part in mixology competitions?

At Delirious, we were always creating something new, which was interesting for me, so that’s when I started entering competitions. I took part in my first local one in 2008 and came third. I took part again the next year but didn’t place at all.

I didn’t give up, though, and in 2010 I was selected to represent St Lucia at the ‘Taste of the Caribbean’ culinary competition in Puerto Rico. That was big for me. I didn’t really think that I had the skills, but I won Caribbean Bartender of the Year.

After that, until around 2016, I took part in various local and international mixology competitions.

What does competing in these events involve?

‘Taste of the Caribbean’ is all about development within the hospitality industry, so as a bartender, you get to create unique cocktails based on a theme.

The competition in 2010 in Puerto Rico was an eye-opener for me because I wasn’t confident. I saw all sorts of personalities and bar tricks and didn’t think I could compete, but in the end, it came down to the cocktails and my presentation. My flavours were also pretty unique.

The ‘Taste of the Caribbean’ competition is a lot of fun because you get to find out about each island’s culture and different indigenous fruits. I must say taking part in that competition, I learned a lot from other bartenders.

What is the story behind your newly-launched business ‘The Crafty Islander’?

The Crafty Islander is a product of COVID-19. About three years ago, I wanted to start a business, and I came up with a few ideas. I’d been in the bar industry for a while and was mentoring many other bartenders, so I felt like my contribution was adding value, but I wanted to do more.

While taking part in competitions, I would create unique ingredients from what we have in St Lucia, so part of my idea initially was to make bottled cocktails. But it stayed as just an idea for two and a half years until COVID came in 2020.

For the first half of the year, we were still wondering what would happen, but by June, we realised that it was going to be a while. I was making 20% of my original salary, so I put my thinking cap on and decided to see what I could get going.

I developed a product called ‘Shrubs’ which is a vinegar-based, non-alcoholic, fresh fruit beverage and after a few months of working on it, I launched my business in September 2020 with three flavours – passion fruit, grapefruit and rosemary, and smoked pineapple.

During this same period, I was approached by a local distillery about making some bamboo cups for Creole Day. I had never made bamboo cups before, so I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I needed to survive and wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity. I did some research and created some samples. In the end, I delivered 100 bamboo cups for the distillery, and they were very happy.

People saw the cups and showed interested, so I was motivated to develop it more. Fast track to now, and The Crafty Islander makes eco-friendly and reusable bamboo cups and straws as well as the Shrubs.

The other aspect of the business came from a hobby I had of building furniture at home, made out of pallets. The same distillery asked me to make pallet bars and shelves, so I tried it out, and they came out pretty well. I was asked to do other small projects, like gift boxes and rum boxes, and when I advertised them on social media, it sparked interest from the public.

The business has grown significantly. All three of the products are doing well, and I’m fully booked with orders. I can’t say that I’m seeing a profit yet, but I’m grateful. It’s looking very promising, and I’ve really been blessed.

What has been your biggest challenge since starting the business?

Finance has been hard because I’m also trying to survive. So, I have to balance reinvesting in the business and putting food on the table. You have to make a lot of sacrifices, but it’s been a good challenge, and I must say that I’ve learned a lot over the last few months about how to keep it going.

Tell us more about how you develop your Shrubs product.

I have to go back to the days when I made ingredients for cocktail competitions. When I was preparing, I would do my research on some of the most unique ingredients because I like to think outside of the box. My cocktails were always complex, and most of the ingredients would be made in the kitchen rather than the bar.

I remember one competition when I made the smoked pineapple Shrub, and a few people said that it was so good that I should bottle it. Naturally, once I started making Shrubs, I went back to the flavours I was familiar with, which were passion fruit and smoked pineapple. But I also wanted a new flavour, so I paired grapefruit and rosemary, and that turned out to be a hit.

Shrubs are not something new. In fact, they’ve been around for centuries. In colonial times there was no refrigeration, so people would use vinegar to preserve fruit, and that’s where Shrubs was born.

Now, in modern times, we use apple cider vinegar because it’s more flavourful, this is added to fruit, to give you an amazing product. Technically, a Shrub is a mixture of apple cider vinegar, fresh fruit, aromatics and sugar.

You can add whatever fruit or flavour you want, and that’s what I’ve done.

How can a Shrub be used?

It can be used for a few different things. For health-conscious people, who drink apple cider vinegar, it can make that a bit more palatable.

A Shrub can also be taken on its own or added to still or sparkling water. It can also be added to any cocktail to enhance the flavour.

In the kitchen, a Shrub can be used to marinate fish or meat or even added to salad dressing.

Who are your clients? How do they find you?

I have corporate and individual clients in St Lucia. I am also getting some interest now from overseas and sent one shipment of Shrubs to Canada. I’ve also had enquiries from the UK and Germany for bamboo cups.

How do you plan to grow the business over the next 12-18 months?

I’m currently building my website with the intention of going global with the bamboo products.

I must develop my website because I need a place where people can see all my products. I currently do social media, but it’s getting slightly overwhelming because I’m getting different enquiries from different platforms. I need to find a way to consolidate, so it’s easier to process.

I’ve also hired three staff members. The intention is to increase my response time to enquiries and purchases and increase production as well.

What advice would you give other small business owners?

I would say don’t give up and if you’ve got an idea, go for it! You never know what will come out of it unless you try.

And remember that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’, so you can’t expect something to work out immediately. You have to try and try and fail and try again. It’s not easy to grow a business, but I think if you try hard, and put good effort into a genuine product or service, eventually you must reap the rewards.

Patience and determination, and having a go-getter attitude, will go a long way.

What do you love about St Lucia?

I love the fact that it’s a small island. The people are hospitable, and it’s almost like one family.

We also have a beautiful landscape with amazing sights. I drive around the island a lot doing deliveries, and you never get tired of the beauty. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

Where do you go to relax?

I go to the beach at Pigeon Point. The kids and I enjoy it there.

What is your philosophy / motto in life?

‘Everything happens for a reason’. I have lived that saying, and I strongly believe that there is a higher power. We are not in full control, so everything happens for a reason.

If you could talk to your younger self 15-20 years ago, what would you say?

Take life more seriously sooner.

When you are young, especially speaking about myself, you think you have lots of time, but the sooner you get going, the better it’ll be for you down the line.

You can gain success sooner if you start earlier.

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Visit ‘The Crafty Islander’ on Facebook and Instagram.