Comida Garifuna

Sendy Vaughn Suazo [photo], owner of Comida Garifuna, connected to the Massachusetts Export Center through the City of Boston Office of Economic Development. Sendy’s business focused on importing items unique to the Garifuna region of Honduras, such as bread, coconut oils, coffee and other products, which will be sold to Latin American specialty stores in the New England region. 

When Sendy first approached the Export Center, she was not familiar with the import process and experienced significant Customs delays in bringing in a large shipment. The Export Center educated Sendy on the import process and connected her with a customs broker to help facilitate customs clearance on the shipment. 

The Export Center also identified applicable FDA regulations regarding Prior Notice, labelling requirements and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) requirements. Sendy has since become FSVP-certified and identified a company that will be testing Comida Garifuna’s products for nutrient labelling. She is awaiting another, even larger shipment as soon as labelling is approved and her Honduran suppliers are able to fill orders. Sendy looks forward to further growing her business with the Export Center’s support to bring in more shipments for local Latin American customers.