If you need an escape, might we humbly suggest Belize? Located on the east coast of Central America, nestled against the Caribbean Sea, you’ll find the sparsely populated country—the only one without a coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
Today she leads a world-famous hot sauce production company which exports not just to the prime markets for Belizean products – the US and the UK, but also to places like Australia, Shanghai, Korea, Lebanon, Kuwait, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Taiwan. She is now pursuing buyers in France and Italy.
Extreme heat lovers, look no further. Trust us, a few drops of this ultra-fiery hot sauce goes a long way — we're talking a full-palate, tongue-scorching experience for those who are into that sort of thing. This is Marie Sharp's hottest sauce yet! BY JOY CHO - PUBLISHED: NOV 15, 2022
IDB Invest has closed a loan of up to US$5 million with a 7-year tenor to Marie Sharp Fine Foods Limited, the largest pepper producer and exporter in Belize. The company is an important micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) in Belize and an example of women-led entrepreneurial success in the country with an inclusive business model and a high potential for growth.
Seen on First We Feast’s Hot Ones and in stores around the world, Marie Sharp’s hot sauce will have you thinking, Frank who? But that’s not what Marie Sharp set out to do when she first began making hot sauce in her kitchen using vegetables and herbs from her garden. In fact, her first habanero pepper crop wasn’t even something she’d planted for herself.
Many of the nearly 90 percent of reviewers who give this hot sauce five stars say it packs a unique flavor from its carrot base. “This is HANDS DOWN the best hot sauce in the world,” one writes.
Heading south to Mexico, the most popular hot sauces, poured on everything from tacos to mango slices, get thicker and lighter on the vinegar: Valentina is the go-to in many households, whereas love for Cholula stretches across the border. A real kick comes from habanero-based hot sauces like Chimay and El Yucateco's Green Habanero sauce—just a few drops of either punch up fish tacos. Where habanero really reigns supreme, though, is in Belize, where potent, vibrant blends of habanero and vegetables like carrots are the base of local icon Marie Sharp's many hot sauces. Picama's hot sauce, the most popular in Guatemala, is made with medium heat serrano peppers, with a thick, ketchup-like consistency—but Green Belly Hot Sauce, also made in Guatemala with habaneros instead, is a spicier local take.