From employees to entrepreneurs
– ’592 Wines’ brings exotic local beverages to a shelf near you
Ministry of Business and Tourism, Press Release – December 07, 2019
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
This quote by motivational speaker Les Browne refers to many persons’ inability to achieve goals because of their fear of failure. But fear of failure did not deter two young Guyanese entrepreneurs as they moved from being employees to owners of a flourishing business.
Kelon Lamazaon and Antwaun Austin were construction, mining and fishing workers. Four years ago, they traded in their tools for buckets that they used to develop a growing business—‘592 Wines, Juices and Shakes,’ fondly called ‘592 Wines’ by their customers.
Kelon said they were divinely inspired to put to good use the ample supplies of fruit and bark available in Guyana, which are the raw materials for their wines, juices and shakes. Their earliest preparations were made in buckets, but as the business grew they began to use drums.
“The first year, we started with five-gallon buckets,” Kelon explained. At that time, the manufacturing process was based on trial and error, he said, and they started with just two flavours of wine packaged in recyclable bottles.
By the second year, they had moved up to eight large drums and then 35 drums by year three. Today, they use 80 drums to cure their finely-aged wines to perfection.
At their Fifth Avenue, Diamond, East Bank Demerara location, they mix and blend a variety of wines and juices. Their red wines are particularly popular and are made in a wide range of flavours that have been enjoyed by Guyanese households for ages.
For the red wine lovers, there are options such as Jamun and Antidesma Fruits and Bark, Straight Wood and the ‘King Combo’ which is a mixture of jamun, antidesma and ‘Straight Wood’.
Kelon said that their special Straight Wood wine is made from eight different barks—‘Capadulla’, ‘Sarsparilla’, ‘Granny Backbone’, ‘Kufa’, ‘Rose of the Mountain’ and several other barks with exotic names. He said the combination of barks provides several health benefits.
Their wines are aged for three months to increase potency. Also, the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department has tested their wines, and confirmed that the alcohol content is 11.1 percent.
Their white wines are also quite unique. They pride themselves for creating flavours such as peanut, gooseberry, pineapple, sugar cane, and passion-fruit wines.
“We have a different taste and quality,” Kelon said, adding that their blends offer a uniquely delightful experience for drinkers’ taste buds.
They have also taken non-drinkers into consideration with their special ‘592 Super Juice’ which is made from cherries, ginger, turmeric, and a combination of eight specially-chosen barks.
Their products can be found on shelves at various locations across the country such as Cost Cutters Supermarket, the Guyana Shop, Food Max Supermarket and many others.
This Sunday, December 8, they will be unveiling a new flavour at the Marketplace UncappeD exhibition organised by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). Marketplace UncappeD is being held at the Guyana National Stadium.
Ask about their package deal, comprising wines, wine boxes, glasses and racks, a handy combination for Christmas.
Kelon said he and his business partner hope to interact with customers, potential investors and build their customer base.