European imports of spices and herbs from developing countries have grown significantly in recent years, as much as 6.6% annually between 2013 and 2017. The Caribbean is well known for its prepared sauces, condiments and seasonings. The countries in the region have not hesitated to share their spicy goodness with the rest of the world and continue to find opportunities to do so. Chief among these are the makers of pepper sauce, or hot sauce as some people call it, which is made from a variety of peppers including chilli, scotch bonnet, scorpion, habanero and cayenne.

With the global spices market expected to grow by 5.1% between 2017 and 2021, as reported by CBI due to increased demand for spices and herbs, the Caribbean Export Development Agency is supporting producers of pepper sauce and other spices and condiments at its upcoming 4th CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum which will be held from September 26 to 28, 2019 at the Union Halle in Frankfurt, Germany.

Here’s a look at just five producers of prepared spices and condiments companies that will be at the 4th CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum.

1. Baron Foods
A leading food manufacturer in the Caribbean, Baron Foods’ has over 150 products which include exotic and gourmet sauces, spices, flavorings, salad dressings and even drink cocktails. With manufacturing plants in Saint Lucia, Grenada and Trinidad, Baron Foods produces three hot sauces including its Classic Pepper Sauce and Blazing Hot Sauce made with ground scotch bonnet peppers. They also manufacture a West Indian Hot Sauce from fresh, wholesome peppers blended with mustard to create its very own individual piquant flavor. Let’s not forget they also have an award winning Banana Ketchup!

2. Viking Traders
Also based in Saint Lucia is Viking Traders – a mature company that was established in 1979. They manufacture a range of over 100 different award-winning food products, including specially blended herbs and spices, flavorful condiments, baking goods, drinks and gift items many of which use recipes that are the original creations of the founder and embody the authentic taste of the Caribbean. Viking Traders produces three hot sauces – Viking Mild Pepper Sauce, Viking Hot Pepper Sauce and Viking Dam Hot Pepper Sauce, all of which won a Scovie Award in the World’s Best Hot Sauce category. The Viking Dam Hot Pepper Sauce also placed first in the Fiery Food Challenge out of 275 competing pepper sauces from the Caribbean and the United States.

3. Winfresh
When it comes to condiments to tantalise your taste-buds the Winfresh brand created in 2009, brings a range of sauces and condiments to do just that. Made from fresh herbs and spices grown by farmers across the Windward Islands – that is Dominica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Winfresh are on a mission to bottle the true taste of the Caribbean. Based in Saint Lucia, they manufacturer a range of wholesome food products including premium juices, sauces, cordials, marinades, and pepper jellies. Winfresh offers a variety of sweet, spicy and hot pepper sauces to create authentic Caribbean meals. These include their Sweet & Spicy Tamarind Sauce, Sweet Ginger Hot Sauce, Hot Jalapeno Pepper Sauce, Sweet Jalapeno Hot Sauce, and Hot Caribbean Pepper Sauce. At Winfresh it’s about putting the Caribbean and its people first – working together to improve lives across the Caribbean.

4. Hot Mama’s Belize
If you like it hot and hotter then Hot Mama’s Belize’s Habanero Hot Sauce – Too Hot XXXX is one to try. The company started in 1996 producing habanero pepper jelly and exporting fresh peppers. Initially exporting just a few pounds of peppers, the export pepper business grew to 100,000 pounds significantly enough to add value by actually producing pepper based products such as habanero pepper sauces, gourmet sauces, jellies, and specialty items including honey, fudge, and BBQ sauce. Currently they produce four hot sauces including the Hot Mama’s Habanero Hot Sauce – Mild X, Habanero Hot Sauce – Hot XX, Habanero Hot Sauce – Fiery XXX, and Habanero Hot Sauce – Too Hot XXXX. Hot Mama’s Belize is promoted under the Belizean Pepper Sauce name in the United States of America and believes in a culture of giving back to the local community by working hand-in-hand with the farmers “one bottle at a time.” Look out for their ‘Mangenero’ sauce – a fusion of fresh mangos and habanero peppers.

5. Super Blend
This Barbadian company offers a wide variety of condiments ranging from seasonings to syrups. Quite often when food tastes so good, we expect it to be packed full of all the bad stuff, the excess salt and sugar, but at Super Blend they’ve created products with your health in mind. The brand owned by Jays Enterprises is committed to using less sugar wherever possible and providing salt free alternatives to some of their seasonings. The end result is dried condiments including home-blends of all purpose and chicken seasonings, curry and an exceptional blend of salt free feasoning which is excellent for enhancing the flavor without the added salt. They have blended wet seasonings and pepper sauces depicting traditional Barbadian heritage and The Premium blend is the flagship in this range. Additionally, they have a gourmet range which includes Ginger Pepper Jelly, Spicy Mango Chutney, Zesty Onion Relish and four Caribbean fruit sauces. The marinates, are quick and easy to use and popping with the flavor of herbs and spices to add zest to meals.

Click here to see all the companies in the sauces and condiments sector.

The 4th CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum will be held from 26th-28th of September at the Union Halle, Frankfurt, Germany where over 60 companies from across the Caribbean will be there to showcase their produce and meet with retailers and distributors interested in sourcing products from the Caribbean.