“My product name came from a classic example in life, he said, lips tinged with a wry smile. “Out of adversity can come opportunity. If you are the only black person in an area, that has to be an advantage, so your challenge is to look for the advantage it presents you. That is my philosophy,” Emmanuel-Jones explained. So when he acquired his 40-acre farm in Dover, England, and became the only black man to do so, the neighbours did not know what to make of him or how to refer to him, so he simply became “the black farmer” to them. – The Gleaner
We just wanted to share an excerpt from an interview with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones courtesy of The Gleaner and Barbara Ellington their Lifestyle Editor (barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com)
“Jamaica-born millionaire Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, creator and owner of the Black Farmer sausage, chicken, beef and sauces, was in the island last week as keynote speaker at the NCB Nation Builder Awards function. From humble beginnings, the entrepreneur-turned-politician now enjoys the comforts of millionaire status, something he has earned by hard work and perseverance. Flair spoke with Emmanuel-Jones at New Kingston’s fabulous Spanish Court Hotel about his present and future plans.
Now firmly established in the United Kingdom (UK), The Black Farmer brand is setting its sights on Jamaica, and rightly so. This son of the Frankfield, Clarendon, soil believes that bringing his brand home is the next important step for his business. And not only will he distribute here, he is looking at taking up opportunities for making more sauces, coffee and pepper production, among other ventures.
Brand Name
But where did the name Black Farmer originate?
“My product name came from a classic example in life, he said, lips tinged with a wry smile. “Out of adversity can come opportunity. If you are the only black person in an area, that has to be an advantage, so your challenge is to look for the advantage it presents you. That is my philosophy,” Emmanuel-Jones explained. So when he acquired his 40-acre farm in Dover, England, and became the only black man to do so, the neighbours did not know what to make of him or how to refer to him, so he simply became “the black farmer” to them.
As Emmanuel-Jones tells it, when the time came to find a name for his product line, his gut told him to call it The Black Farmer. “But my advisors and many friends and associates thought it was a bad idea. I just felt it in my gut that it was the right name. There is no science to going with your gut but you have to trust it, so I stuck with my good gut feeling about the name, and today it is worth a fortune, Emmanuel-Jones told Flair in reference to his £8-million brand value. That put an end to the initial feeling that the name would offend people.
But getting to the present was fraught with hardships in the life of a youth who didn’t finish school. The turning point came when, at age 17, he decided that he didn’t have to live a life of poverty and without much opportunity. “I had a mental switch and I knew that to get on in life, I would have to change so I could become part of the host community and be accepted by them,” said Emmanuel-Jones who emigrated with his family at age four.
The Black Farmer said he realised pretty early in life that outsiders bring change because they think about things differently, ask who made the rules and who said things have to be this way. “The worst thing you can say to me is, “I can’t or it’s not possible. There is a price to pay, but everything is possible,” he said, explaining why he turned his life around. An attempt to enlist in the army was not successful, but her did not give up.
His next step was cooking school and he became a chef, but didn’t want to be one all his life, realising that he would never get enough money to buy the farm of his dreams. Plus, he noted, “It was a restricted profession where the way you progressed up the ladder depended on how other people felt about you. I did not want to be trapped in a situation where my progress was dependent on what others thought about me.”
However, that experience set the stage for his future, and having worked first as a chef, then spent 10 years making television food programmes, he launched his first business – a food and drink marketing agency. “Looking back, everything I went through got me into a position where I could launch my own brand. I learnt how to prepare food, how to communicate it then how to market it. By the time I came to launch my own brand, I had done my life schooling, so I knew how to make it work,’ he said.
Food production
Emmanuel-Jones recalls the initial stages of marketing his sausages. “I tried every supermarket to get them to list it, but they all said no. The first one to give me a break was ASDA.” But as consumer confidence grew, it gained in popularity and is now carried in all supermarkets in the UK.
So how did it feel to make his first million pounds? “It was a massive struggle to get support from banks initially, but the moment you make the first million, everyone wants to get in touch with you. Everyone wants to do business now. It’s a critical stage because you cannot allow that to run away with you and you have to remember the struggle to that point,” he said.
Emmanuel-Jones becomes serious when he rewinds his mental clock, adding that finally reaching millionaire status gives you a lot of choices. Along with his wife of 18 years, he is now able to send his children to the best schools in the country, he owns three properties, drives the best cars, and enjoys the little things that make life easier.
He said he is also able to lay the foundation for his children so they don’t have to struggle like he did, but can have what was he deprived of as a child. However, he makes his three children realise they have personal responsibilities. His daughter, at 14, has her brand of sausage and wants to be a child psychologist; one of his sons wants to be a chef and the other will be studying business. proud papa hopes they will all join him in the business one day.” Read the Full Article, look for the heading “The Saddest Day” and see how Wilfred triumphed
*Image courtesy of The Gleaner*
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