Young entrepreneur graces January page of 2023 BOSVG calendar

The Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines (BOSVG) has chosen Crystal Bynoe-Greaves to grace the January page of its 2023 calendar which celebrates 12 of the nation’s “youthful visionaries”.
But it was a gift to her husband which turned out to be the recipe for success for this young entrepreneur.

The Largo Heights resident is the founder and owner of a small business which she calls ‘The Sweetest Retreat’.

“I provide gourmet and artisan food products, mainly, charcuterie and cheese spreads… and I provide a variety of boxes for every occasion.”

While Bynoe-Greaves focuses on producing her gourmet delights, she also does a bit of catering with finger foods from her home-based cottage industry.

When SEARCHLIGHT spoke with the enterprising business woman on Wednesday, she said she plans to expand her business by offering a wider range of products.

So soon, her customers will be able to get more “dessert items and different products”.

Although the business is based in Largo Heights, customers may go to any of her social media platforms to place their orders and have their items delivered.

“I also prepare custom boxes, so customers have an opportunity to select a wide range of items including sweets or savoury items.”

The mother of one also produces gifts for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day and other occasions.

The business was started on March 7, 2021 after Bynoe-Greaves created her first charcuterie board as a Valentine’s Day gift to her husband.

Stating her love for cheese products, Bynoe-Greaves said she just wanted to show her husband “how good it was and what it could be like.

“So I made one, and we went to the beach and had a nice little picnic together.”

She later posted photos of this special Valentine’s Day gift on her Whatsapp status and everyone wanted to buy one, she said.

That was the start of her thriving small business, The Sweetest Retreat.

“It has turned into my main source of income, so we are just going with it,” Bynoe-Greaves said with a chuckle.

Over the almost two years of the business’s existence, Bynoe-Greaves said that she has “been able to get some really good clients”.

As for business, The Sweetest Retreat is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm, satisfying its many customers, taking their orders and making deliveries.

“The aim is to eventually have my own physical space, because I want to add a lot of other items.”

But until then, it is a one woman show, starring Crystal Bynoe-Greaves.

The young businesswoman hopes that early in the New Year, she will be able to launch another element of her business.

“This element includes providing picnic set ups…we do the actual set up of the picnic for you, you just show up and we have everything prepared for you.”

She plans to embark on this new venture from February 2023.

Prior to starting her own business, Bynoe-Greaves worked as a radio announcer for five years.

Having made the switch in careers, she fully enjoys what she does now.

“I love the freedom of it, I enjoy creating…I love food; my mom is a cook, and I grew up around great food, so I am really big on food preparation and especially presentation.”

To enhance her skills, Bynoe-Greaves recently did training courses in Trinidad and Tobago.

She participated in a Master Class at Batters and Bits where she learnt to create different types of desserts and also in a course at Pastry Class Trinidad and Tobago, where she sharpened her skills in pastry making.

Apart from catering for the needs of her individual customers, the Largo Heights businesswoman also caters for corporate functions, weddings and even school gatherings.

Bynoe-Greaves holds a Diploma in Travel Hospitality and Tourism Management from the University of Wales and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Marketing (First Class Honours from UWI).

Soon, she will become a household name in St Vincent and the Grenadines, as her photo will be hung in many homes, as the January feature on the BOSVG 2023 Calendar.