PB& CHIPZ: The Sweet Potato Chip Brand Born
On February 15, 2024, the Form Five class at the time harvested sweet potatoes for the very first time and after this, they found the idea of selling potatoes by the heap rather boring. As a result, five (5) Oran Williams, Lucine Bowens, Kellesia Williams, Deondre Olliverre and Kenran Pierre fifth formers of the Petit Bordel Secondary School decided that sweet potatoes could be marketed and sold differently, moving away from the traditional method of selling them by the heap, sack, or pound. The students came up with the idea to create a product targeting their classmates and teachers.
The class ended up creating a sweet potato chip brand called PBSS sweet potato CHIPZ PBSS sweet potato CHIPZ focused on adding value / agro-processing where senior students would grow their sweet potatoes and use them to make sweet potato chips and so create their market.
Current setup (Present day)
The name PBSS sweet potato CHIPZ has been rebranded as PB& CHIPZ, with third-formers spearheading the project, twenty (20) students are involved in this project. The choice of allowing lower-form students to participate in food processing was to combat the dropout rates that are plaguing secondary schools, learning such a valuable skill at such a young age gives students an advantage/ chance if their educational journey might take a turn for the worst. The project provides a monthly income towards the school’s Agricultural fund, it has a stable consumer base that stretches beyond the constituency.
The main goals of this project include the following :
- Creating a healthier snack option for the student population - Reducing the sodium intake of students and Eradicating hunger among the student population
- Creating a market for sweet potato farmers in North Leeward - Limiting food wastage
The project is focused on much more than just sweet potato, additional snack choices include - Bananas-Plantains-Breadfruit
The project also has some exciting flavors -Spicy -Sweet chilli -BBQ -Sea salt
Future plans
The plans for this project are as follows:
-To make this project a registered business by 2027
- To establish a school Agricultural fund to assist less fortunate students - To create a stable school feeding program - To curve the diet of students
-To reduce the sodium intake of students across schools in North Leeward by 60% by 2028
-To make the product available for retail by the end of 2025
Achievements
- Being the first secondary in SVG to have a stable added-value food item - Being the first secondary in SVG to have a snack brand
-Being the first secondary school on the leeward side of SVG to market a stable agro-processing product
-Being the first secondary school on the leeward side of SVG to have a stable agro-processing business operation
