This is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. Today, we hear from Blondy Belawula of Bajo Food Products Inc. in Moncton.

AS A LOCAL BUSINESS, WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN SERVE THE COMMUNITY BETTER BECAUSE WE ARE PART OF THE VERY SAME COMMUNITY WHILE CREATING A SENSE OF UNIQUE IDENTITY WHERE PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT ORIGINS CAN RELATE AND FIND PRODUCTS THAT THEY VALUE KNOWING THAT IT IS SAFELY SOURCED. THIS IS A NEW ENDEAVOUR, YET NOT THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS VENTURE I’VE BEEN PART OF.

It’s exciting to think of all the possibilities as we start to see our idea come to life day by day. Right now, we have the facility and all the paperwork required from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to import specialty food products.

As a food distribution organization, we had to go through a licensing process in line with safe food Canadian’s regulation. The challenge we are facing now is the supply chain disruption due to the pandemic and the high cost of freight. We are nevertheless poised to receive our first shipment in the coming weeks from Africa and South America.

As an experienced entrepreneur, my main motivation is the desire to see the business succeed through hard work and perseverance especially in this difficult time of the Covid-19 pandemic. The need to establish a distribution hub in the Maritimes capable of supplying the international retail stores with safely sourced specialty food products and provide job opportunities for our community is my main source of motivation and my goal.