Belize’s First Lady Entrepreneur Of Hot Sauces, Marie Sharp, Joins Who’s Who List Of Trailblazers, Launches New Book

For forty years business icon/octogenarian, Marie Sharp, has forged a path in culinary history with her award-winning brand of hot sauces, jams, and jellies. The Melinda Estates nestled in Stann Creek, Belize Central America cultivates 400 acres of land proudly employing over 125 breadwinners largely including women from local Mayan villages at Sharp’s operation. From cultivation to picking, to processing, bottling, shipping and marketing, this savvy, yet caring woman helped elevate families contributing to their overall bottom line and standard of living. Sharp even loans farmers money to buy seeds for cultivation.

Her journey began earnestly, preparing delicious sauces for friends and family perfecting her tastes and blends using fresh habanero peppers, spices, vinegar, freshly grown vegetables and fruits. In short order, her unique tasty blends took off and Sharp was encouraged to produce more sauces and products for wider distribution. She bought three stoves and began a cottage industry, eventually creating eight different sauces. In 1980, Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods formed evolving from manual to an automated factory burgeoning globally finding success throughout Central America, Germany, Japan and today throughout most of the world’s major territories.

Sharp ethically farms and sees to every aspect of quality control. Concern for the welfare of Belizean women and children struggling with the alarming rate of domestic violence (gender-based violence) and partnering with the U.S. Embassy in Belize, Sharp launched her pineapple habanero sauce, “Pure Love” dedicating the proceeds to Haven House. This facility is the only refuge in Belize dedicated to children and women fleeing domestic abuse.

Her biggest challenge remained to penetrate the vast United States territory but, marketing for shelf space was proving a costly and daunting challenge. Remarkably, Marie Sharp ultimately got on the radar of retail giant, Walmart and major distribution was attainable. During Covid, her online sales further exploded, especially in the U.S. and her products are now placed in Kroger and Whole Foods.

All these accomplishments would be formidable at any age but, most admirably considering Sharp launched her company, Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods Ltd. and just celebrated her 84th birthday on March 9th the same day the new book (Cognella Press), Marie Sharp: Made in Belize (The Authorized Biography) by attorney and author, Deborah Wagnon, was released.

In the months subsequent to the hardcover release date, there will be an audiobook available to the public. To purchase the book CLICK HERE.

The seemingly tireless Sharp joins a long enviable list of superstars far from retirement who continue to contribute to the world. Among her active peer group; Iris Apfel (102), Harry Belafonte (93), Norman Lear (101) as well as Mick Jagger, Rita Moreno, Dianne Warwick, Jane Fonda (83), Willie Nelson (87). Never one to rest on her laurels this elegant, noble woman continues to work daily expanding her enterprises and setting her sights even higher. Sharp has been featured in Forbes, Huffpost, Slate Magazine, Lonelyplanet, and Kirkus Reviews to name a few.

About “Marie Sharp: Made in Belize (The Authorized Biography)”

Deborah Wagnon’s Marie Sharp: Made in Belize (The Authorized Biography) tells the story of an extraordinary woman from Belize who overcame societal barriers, as well as personal and professional setbacks, to build a hugely successful worldwide business, Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods, Ltd.

The book traces Marie’s life from her early years in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, and Dangriga, Belize, through her 50-plus years of marriage, the creation of her first habanero pepper sauce, the development of her business, and her ongoing advocacy of and support for efforts to empower the young women and girls of Belize and Central America. The book describes how Marie overcame devastating events throughout the course of her career, including the loss of her first trademark, betrayals by business partners, the loss of her husband and the murder of her eldest son. Through it all, she persevered and continues to serve as a shining example of what is possible with hard work, passion and the will to succeed.

Marie Sharp: Made in Belize is a powerful and highly personal story that not only recounts an incredible life, but also highlights the ways in which Marie and other women like her are helping their cultures and societies evolve into more inclusive and supportive spaces for woman entrepreneurs and leaders.

About Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods, Ltd.

As a woman-owned, women-led business, Marie Sharp’s farm currently employs more than 125 full-time staff, with 85% of her workforce being female. At age 84, Marie proudly relishes her status as the “Queen of Habanero” across Belize and in kitchens around the world. At the start, Marie didn’t set out to become an influencer in the international hot-sauce market. But, her 40-year-long obsession with creating a high-quality habanero pepper sauce blend with her Melinda Estate fresh fruits and vegetables solidified her title. Marie started using habanero peppers from her family’s farm in Stann Creek Valley, Belize, to make hot sauce in the 1980s. Soon, word of mouth spread about the irresistible flavors of her sauces and demand for her products grew. Eventually, she emerged as a renowned Belizean businesswoman. Today, Marie Sharp’s products are sold in more than 30 countries and have received multiple awards for outstanding quality and flavor.

About Deborah Wagnon

Deborah Wagnon is a Stanford Law graduate (Palo Alto, California) with an undergraduate degree in Business from Georgia Tech (Atlanta, Georgia), and an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont’s Goddard College. She is an entertainment and IP attorney, and has represented with her various law partners internationally-known clientele including Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Olivia Newton John, and Reba McEntyre.

Wagnon is the mother of Guatemala-born Gianna, now a 22-year-old graduating film production major. After decades in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Nashville as a partner in high-end entertainment industry law firms, both large and boutique, as well as serving as General Counsel of Landmark Entertainment Group, a 400-employee production house for film, theater, TV, and amusement parks around the world, Deborah now divides her time between Savannah, Georgia, on her farm “Finca de la Casita,” and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she is a tenured full Professor of IP and International Law in the College of Media & Entertainment Department of Recording Industry.

Wagnon has owned and practiced via Portia Entertainment Group LLC, specializing in music, film and literary IP since 2007. Wagnon has authored historical fiction, nonfiction, academic textbooks, and now the approved biography of business icon Marie Sharp in Belize, as well as writing the screenplay adaption of her historical fiction novel about the life of one of the first women lawyers in Georgia (Great and Wide Sea a.k.a. Neva Majette). Wagnon is regularly interviewed and published as an expert in high profile entertainment and IP matters (New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal MarketWatch). She is founder of the International Classroom Initiative held at the University of Belize and at Universidad Francisco Marroquin Escuela de Cine (Film) y Artes Visuales in Guatemala City. Since its inception in 2013, the initiative has focused upon the development of creative opportunities for talent in Central America and other developing regions around the world.

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