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Melissa de Leon

Business with high heels

In 2008, Chef Melissa went through a painful divorce, leading her to re-
consider the priorities in her life. It was then, almost by accident, that she
received samples of gluten-free flour from the company Sunny Mills in Pa-
nama. She was inspired by this and, from that moment, began to develop
energy bars, nutritious cookies, breads and pastas that she would com-
mercialize as Tropical Panama Gourmet in different places in Panama City.

Q: How did you kick start your a plant to produce "gluten-free healthy best out of my ability. After the work-
business? products based on flour from tropical shop, I developed a business plan to
tubers grown in Panama". These pro- present to prospective investors.
I am a chef by training. However, when ducts contain no grain, lactose or refi-
I started my company, I did not have ned sugar and are suitable for sports- Q: What was the business idea
a commercial kitchen with adequate men, those who want to lose weight behind Tropical Panama Gour-
equipment, so I had to be both very and people who suffer from certain met?
patient and very persistent. In order to illnesses or have intolerance to gluten
be able to get the money to obtain such -- above all, for those seeking a heal- My business idea consisted of the
equipment, I participated in a business thy diet. To start production, my first installation and initiation of a plant to
incubator competition. Out of the 250 oven was purchased with the support produce finished products made with
entrepreneurs who entered, I was of AMPYME -- the Government of gluten-free flours, as well sugar-free
among the four finalists. My dream was Panama's agency supporting small and products for diabetics, both for local
about to be realized! medium enterprises -- in my region of and international sales. I have deve-
La Chorrera. loped an innovative technique that
Thanks to the competition, I joined gives my products a shelf-life of up to
the "Plan to Jump" programme of the Later on, I had the opportunity of twelve months without using additives
Panama Business Accelerator in the benefiting from EMPRETEC training. or preservatives. This long shelf-life
City of Knowledge. There I was able This allowed me to obtain intense and lowers the management costs of expor-
to implement my own business mo- hands-on feedback on how to improve ting such products, as we do not need
del, which is based on the creation of my business project, and how to get the to worry about their rapid expiration
date. Further, by using gluten-free
flour in our products, we are able to
use 100% of the harvest cultivated with
no waste. Producers benefit because
there are no leftovers and they have the
assurance that all of their production
will be purchased, ensuring a more
steady flow of income.
Q: What is your ambition for the
future?
My ambition is to export 100%
Panamanian products promoting heal-
thy nutrition, while at the same time
contributing to the agribusiness in my
country.
My enterprise's vision is to blend culi-
nary training with knowledge of nutri-
tion and a passion for food. It specia-
lizes in developing gourmet products
delivered to supermarkets and restau-
rants. In addition, the company has a
portfolio of training services, cooking
courses and personalized catering.
I started alone and today Tropical
Panama Gourmet employs ten people,

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