#Mango mango full#

Simply Panache sells the mango preserves at its Hampton stores and online at. We feel that if they could speak to us, that they would feel like what they went through wasn’t in vain.' 'We feel that we are honoring our ancestors by being good stewards of their sacrifice. 'It feels good to be able to work hard and build something that’s not just for us but that continues onto the next generation,' Teule-Hekima said. After Mango Mangeaux helped launched Black Restaurant Week in the area last year, the group became a resource for other black restaurant owners, offering strategies on marketing and establishing an online presence. “Those things that you don’t know have the potential of being crippling.”īrown-Renfro said it's important to pass on the knowledge she's gained. “There are a lot of things that you just don’t know that you don't know,” Teule-Hekima said. Teule-Hekima still see patients during the day and handles employee relations at night.

#Mango mango full#

Willis, 42, a former critical care nurse, runs their spa full time and organizes their books. With so many businesses to juggle, Brown-Renfro, whose husband was in the Navy and who served as an ombudsman for his command for several years, has made Simply Panache her full time job. After Whole Foods featured the product in a few stores, someone from QVC asked Simply Panache to sell the product on air, Brown-Renfro said.

The preserves gained a cult following at local farmers’ markets, earning the trio about $100,000 their first year. Using money earned from their events business, Simply Panache started retail operations small in 2012 at Hanover Cannery in Ashland, Virginia, an industrial-sized kitchen where locals can preserve their fresh produce. Each batch cost about $1,000 to make and would produce enough preserves to fill about 300 jars, which they packed and labeled with a four-person staff. “We kinda looked at each other and said ‘hey we’ve got something here.’” And 'What’s in the ginger and shrimp recipe?’ It would be the mango preserves,” Brown-Renfro said. “They would ask ‘So what’s in the punch?’ and it would be the mango preserves. 'Mango is the main fruit in Africa, it’s the main fruit in Jamaica.'Ĭustomers asked about the secret ingredient so much that the group decided to sell their preserves commercially. “This fruit is just the fruit of our ancestors, all those places that we have connections to,' said Teule-Hekima, 45, a family practitioner who handles their human resources needs. Although the preserves don’t come from a family recipe, Brown-Renfro, whose great grandfather comes from Jamaica, said mangoes remind them of their heritage.