MyaBèl Brings To You Haiti in A Bottle With Their Authentic Cooking Sauces And So Much More

More and more entrepreneurs are ringing the bell of development in Haiti. They are contributing in many different sectors. I have a chance to connect with Regine T. one of the founders of MyaBèl to learn more about this venture.

What’s your professional background?

In 2006, I received my Bachelors in Political Science and Business Marketing. In 2009, I graduated from Law School. I am a lawyer by training.  All I wanted to do was be a corporate lawyer upon graduating Law School.

Please tell us the story of MyaBèl?

MyaBèl started off as a venture between three friends that just wanted a nice place to eat in their hometown. We thought it would attract investors and generally spike up development in the area. We wanted our food to be Creole, unique and a celebration of Haiti. We developed a cocktail menu using local ingredients and a spin on spicy slaw (pikliz) with mangoes. People loved the products. Our hometown is notorious for traffic, so they began to demand that we bottle the goodness that is known today as MyaBèl.

We now have a processing center, a farm that produces ingredients for us and our restaurant (catering for major events as well).

What inspired this type of business?

Above all, it was the love for Haiti and also wanted to do something concrete in our hometown of Croix-des-Bouquets.

How did you come up with the name “MyaBèl”?

It’s two of the partners’ names together Myrlene and Junior Abellard.  We use the “My” and “Abel” which forms MyaBel.

From cooking sauce to crafted cocktails, tell us about the products and what makes them unique and special?

All the products have a unique creole name, and they all use the maximum Haitian products possible. It’s essentially the spirit of Haiti in a bottle.

You mention that you source your products directly from farmers of three different locations, what are some challenges in sourcing and processing the ingredients?

The farmers wait for rain.  It’s very cyclical and hard to source on a schedule. Processing in Haiti is a challenge because of electricity. We have elected to be artisanal and focus on a niche premium market.  Providing high quality and slow cooked food that create a lot of jobs.  We mainly source from three places and our farm. Thus, our ingredients are from every corner of Haiti during rainy seasons.

How does your business contribute to the Haitian economy?

Certainly job creation which helps the GDP. We market Haiti in a different light through our positive story.

Any future plans for MyaBèl? Where do see the business in the next 5 years?

We hope to export this year into the Caribbean and the US.  Work toward creating more jobs and a larger factory. Grow our farmers’ network from 65 to 500 and increase our employees.

Any advice for others going into business in Haiti?

Make sure you are in it for the long haul as it’s quite a difficult landscape.  Additionally, profit can’t be your only focus because the logistical challenges are at times troublesome.  Find someone who has done it before which will help you avoid rookie mistakes.

Where can we find your products? How can we order?

We are located in various supermarkets in Haiti. You can order directly through our website www.myabel.ht, or through our social media platforms myabelht and myabelcocktail.

What’s your business mantra/motto?

Authentically Ayiti.