Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Eating yogurt has a host of health benefits. However, most people find it too acidic to consume regularly and commercially produced yogurt is expensive.Local entrepreneur Nolan Jones has created his own formula under the name Yogood which is smooth, creamy, sumptuous and affordable.

Jones, who is Trinidad-born but grew up in Venezuela, has been tweaking and perfecting his yogurt recipe for 21 years. He began making yogurt while in Venezuela. “I started working with a person, he used to make yogurt so I used to look to see how he did it. He never taught me, I would just look at the way he did it and after that I started doing it for myself. Since then I started to change it, because if the person I learned from tasted my yogurt now, he would say what you do with it? It’s totally different, over all these years I tried to make it better and better. The creaminess is part of the secret, that’s part of the 21 years making it. My yogurt is very natural, it has no chemicals other than sugar, no gelatin, no colouring, nothing. I buy the fruits and make it from scratch, it’s very natural.”
Currently, Jones is making strawberry, peach and pineapple flavours, and is experimenting with other flavours, including prune, mango and chocolate, as well as low-sugar and soya milk versions. They are sold in 5.5 oz and 16 oz sizes. He said one reason he has not released the other flavours yet is that he has to bring his labels in from Venezuela. When he was in business there, he sold the yogurt under the name Yogurt Cream Gourmet, but upon moving to Trinidad he decided to change the name. “I decided to put Yogurtland, so when I come down I have my stickers, my labels, everything, but when I reach here I see it have a Yogurtland already so I can’t use that name. So that’s why I ended up with Yogood, but now I have to wait on new labels for the other flavours and they are much cheaper to print in Venezuela.”
Distribution partner Melanie Parris said more equipment is needed for expansion. “He’s still producing things at his home, so we’re not wanting to venture into Massy and those large supermarkets just yet because he needs the infrastructure and the equipment. We’ve gone online and looked at Planting Seeds as an option to get some funding because he wouldn’t like Massy to say bring 2,000 and he’d be like he can’t do that, how are we going to make that?”
So far the entrepreneur has been distributing the yogurt throughout Trinidad. “We’ve been selling in San Fernando, La Brea, Point Fortin, Port-of-Spain. It’s available at Kaiso Blues Cafe and a few convenience stores in Belmont. We’re also expanding to a few restaurants who offer it as an option for dessert, including Ozone Restaurant on Cipriani Boulevard that we’re also supplying small quantities for now to get the buzz out. We are also open to people purchasing a few dozen wholesale to retail. The price is $10 but I’m doing $9 for now. So they can wholesale it for $8 each and then sell it for $9 or $10 depending on the market they are in or they feel they can sell it to.”
Jones moved back to Trinidad after living in Venezuela for years. “My family was moving to Canada with my mother, but she said let’s go to Venezuela to visit your father because we’re going to Canada and I don’t know when you’re seeing him, and we ended up staying. I studied in Venezuela, I have my degree in Education and I was in University for 10 years, but I always loved business since I was small. I remember a time when I was about six or seven and I asked my mom where I could study to be a boss. I’ve been in T&T for a year. I came back with my family as things are hard in Venezuela but all my things and my house are still there. So far the business is doing well in T&T, and I want to push forward.”
For more information and to order, call and Whatsapp Melanie Parris (North) at 682-1079, 349-6254 and Nolan Jones (South and East) 297-0568 and email nolangjones@gmail.com.