Jervian Johnson (Part 2)
Tropicks365 - Nothing Goes to Waste
Dirt Biscuits and Banana Leaves
When I was a little girl, I used to make biscuits out of dirt. I would shape them, let them dry, and then pack them into empty food packages I found around the house, as if they were going straight to a shop shelf. When I think about it now, I have to laugh, because that is more or less what I do today.
I spent part of my early childhood in McVicker’s Lane, off Old Harbour Road in St. Catherine, and the other part in Red Hills, St. Andrew. Wherever I was, I was making something. I made all kinds of pretend food from banana leaves and stems. I made clothes for my dolls. Whatever I could find around the house became something else in my hands. There was never a dull moment.
A Taste in South Korea
Years later, I found myself in South Korea, and that is where I discovered a whole world of dried and fermented foods. It was there that I tasted dried mango for the very first time.
I remember thinking, we must do this in Jamaica. We have so many beautiful fruits back home, and every year some of them just fall and go to waste. But honestly, it was only a passing thought. I never imagined I would be the one to actually do it.
An Engineer with a Reason
By profession, I’m a Chemical and Environmental Engineer, and I was working with the Government of Jamaica in that capacity. I had a career. I wasn’t looking for a new one.
Then COVID came, and my sister lost her job. Watching that happen to someone you love changes how you see things. I felt like I needed to do something different, something that could create a change for my family. So, while I was still working with the government, I started my company. It began as a way to give my family members work, and over time it has reached people in our community and beyond.
Dried pineapple and plantain, made from Jamaican fruit.
Getting It Right
The hardest part was getting the product right. I wanted something healthy, but it also had to taste good, and finding both at the same time took a lot of troubleshooting. I tested and adjusted over and over.
I asked everybody for their opinion. Family, friends, food experts, customers. Some feedback was easy to hear, and some wasn’t, but every bit of it helped. And through all of it, I had to keep believing, not only in the taste, but in why it mattered. For me, this was always about health and about not wasting what our land gives us.
Turn Mango with Salt and Pepper
Everything we make starts with Jamaican fruit, mostly from our own Jamaican farmers. Mango, pineapple, plantain. I wanted the flavours to feel like home, so I looked at the way we have always eaten our fruit.
Our Salt and Pepper Mango comes straight from the way we eat turn mango with salt and pepper. Anybody who grew up here knows that taste. It has become a crowd favourite, and I’m not surprised. Our Spicy Mango comes from that same place.
Then there is our Pine Skin and Ginger. Growing up, nobody threw away the pineapple skin. We used it to make pineapple drink. That is where the tea came from, and it is a big part of how we run the business. We try to use every part of the fruit, so nothing goes to waste.
Pine Skin and Ginger, inspired by homemade pineapple drink.
A Piece of Jamaica in Your Bag
One thing I love is that our fruit can travel. You can’t always carry a bag of fresh mangoes onto a plane, but you can carry this. So a visitor can take a real taste of Jamaica home with them, and a Jamaican abroad can have it on their shelf.
To me, buying Jamaican builds resilience, in our people and in our food systems. It helps people eat healthier, it supports our farmers, and it keeps good fruit from going to waste. Every time someone buys from us, we take one more step toward a healthier population and a healthier planet.
Down Memory Lane
When somebody gives our product as a Christmas gift, they are giving something healthy that tastes good. I can’t think of a better way to show somebody you love them.
And for a Jamaican in the Diaspora who hasn’t been home in years, I want that first taste to take them right back. Back to sitting under a mango tree with turn mango, salt and pepper. Back to the kitchen where somebody was boiling pine skin and ginger for pineapple drink. I want it to start a conversation about old memories. And at Christmas, they can bake with it too, and make new memories with flavours they have always known.
Let Your Light Shine
If you’re young and you have an idea but you’re afraid to start, I understand. You may feel like you don’t have it all figured out. I didn’t either. But your talent isn’t meant to be hidden. Let it be a light that everybody can see.
There are so many people ready to help you. Go and connect with a mentor at the JBDC. They have been instrumental in my development. And remember, starting a business is about more than money. It makes you grow as a person, and the more you grow, the more you have to give back to the world.
I started out packing dirt biscuits into empty boxes. Now I pack Jamaica’s fruit for the world. Don’t underestimate where your hands can take you.
Tropicks365 is available at Things Jamaican.
