Elizabeth Morgan | Remembering a Jamaican creator in agro-processing: Arran Norman Nash

There has been much talk about Jamaica’s agriculture. Over the past few weeks, the concern has been about the effect on domestic agricultural production of removing the GCT on raw foods.

April, I note, is Farmers’ Month, and it was announced that, in 2023, Jamaica had the second highest production of domestic crops – 779,254 tonnes – recorded in its history, despite adverse weather conditions. There is the view that Jamaica’s agricultural sector, with right policies and investments, could contribute far more to food security, domestic food production, and to exports. It is also felt that there should be more investment in research and development to produce more products using Jamaican inputs.

Jamaica had a good reputation in agricultural research. Bodles Agricultural Research Station, the Sugar Industry Research Institute, and later the Scientific Research Council were known for their work. There were also individuals who made a valuable contribution, such as Dr Thomas Philip Lecky in cattle breeding.

Many of the products developed in Jamaica have been sold to foreign companies, for example, Tia Maria, or are now in decline. Some of these include the citrus crops, ortaniques, originally propagated in Manchester, and ugli in Clarendon. These were quite significant export crops.

In some cases, it cannot be recalled who created these products or they have many claimants and myths. What was or is known is that they originated in Jamaica from Jamaican ingenuity, even if they are no longer here.

In addition, there is short-term memory in this country and a lack of appreciation for those of the past who created and produced products, which gained international recognition.

One such is Arran Norman Nash.

NORMAN NASH AND PICKAPEPPA SAUCE

In doing some research recently, I came across a man, Arran Norman Nash, from Manchester, who was the creator and original producer of Pickapeppa Sauce. Interestingly, not many of those asked knew of him or associated him with Pickapeppa Sauce. This includes the Manchester Chamber of Commerce of which he was a founding member.

Norman Nash was born in Mandeville, Manchester, on July 18, 1883. He was the son of merchant Charles Richardson Nash and his wife, Elizabeth Frances Tucker. He attended Munro (then Potsdam) College. He went on to study food and condiment chemistry from 1919-1920.

He developed the recipe for Pickapeppa Sauce in his mother’s kitchen. In 1921, he began the production of his sauce and it is said that he bought the ingredients from the local farmers in Manchester. The internationally recognised trademark/logo for Pickapeppa Sauce was created by his cousin, Stella Shaw, who was a noted artist of her day.

Norman Nash was the managing director of the Pickapeppa Company Limited. An advertisement for Pickapeppa Sauce in 1934 confirmed that it was made from fruits, vegetables and spices grown only in Jamaica and which have a flavour of their own that could not be duplicated in any imported product.

In 1930, a Montreal provision merchant was seeking to purchase Pickapeppa Sauce. So, the product was going into the export market.

Norman Nash lived his entire life in Manchester between Mandeville and Williamsfield. He was involved in all aspects of life in the parish, including being a justice of the peace, a member of the Parochial Board, and involved with the Central Manchester People’s Co-operative Bank, and the Manchester People’s Loan Bank. It seems that he was also an able cricketer.

In 1945, Mr Nash was a founding member of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. He declined the chairmanship. In the same year, he sold his Pickapeppa Company and recipe to fellow Manchester businessman, Joseph Lyn Kee Chow. The company was then relocated to Shooters Hill. It has remained with the Lyn Kee Chow family and remains a Jamaican company, based in Manchester, now described as internationally renowned.

In spite of what is written in anniversary supplements, it seems most people now associate Pickapeppa Sauce with the Lyn Kee Chow family, forgetting who created the product and that it existed as a thriving company for 24 years before the sale.

Norman Nash died in Mandeville on November 12, 1962, aged 79. Surprisingly, I was unable to find an obituary or a photograph of him – a man who had been such a prominent figure in Manchester.

As I said, people I spoke to in Manchester did not know who he was or that he was a founding member of the Chamber of Commerce, and had created a successful product there, which still exists today.

I hope that the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce will rectify this oversight. Jamaica needs more people like Arran Norman Nash who can create successful products and companies using Jamaican inputs, and from the agricultural sector. Norman Nash should be seen as a business role model.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com