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Last week's speakers were Regina Smith and Kentisha Ward the co-founders of GROW, The Food Lab.
GROW aims to solve problems caused by the inability to scale for many processors and food entrepreneurs due to lack of capital, lack of equipment and inability to export. GROW is a food production house that provides the only FDA certified commercial kitchen in The Bahamas. Farmers, chefs, producers and businesses can manufacture on an industrial scale at GROW's facilities. This provides a safer way to produce food products on a commercial scale and also allows for the ability to export. Grow has frozen storage, dry storage, food processing equipment and commercial kitchens.
GROW can solve some of the problems such as high wastage in certain crops, for example the 11 million pounds of onions that are wasted per year in the Bahamas. GROW can help to stop such wastage by converting such products into value added goods. The onions can be transformed into onion jelly, onion powder, onion rings and other products that can be resold in our grocery stores for a cheaper price. GROW can also produce other products such as jams, teas, and numerous processed food items. Grow rents their storage, processing equipment and kitchens to persons who want to produce food products on an industrial scale and to certain standards and specifications.
The founders also discussed how many countries were able to reduce their national debt by being able to increase exports of the excess amount of goods they have. They envision similar benefits for the Bahamas from their business model. Being FDA certified also provides the ability to export goods into the USA and around the world.
GROW has recently launched on the ArawakX planform and is seeking Bahamian investors.
