UNIONDALE, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 27, 2024 / Charlene Barrie owns Char's Kitchen, and for 28 years, she has grown her entrepreneurial venture into a successful business. Ms. Barrie specializes in homemade products, offering 13 jams, four pickles, eight syrups, five sugar-free options and two salsas. She employs only her husband and a part-time employee to help handle gardening and setting up at the craft fair - it's a lot of work, but Ms. Barrie finds the process rewarding.
A Family Career Blossoms
Ms. Barrie began her career when her oldest daughter married and was looking for a gift to give her grandparents. She gave Ms. Barrie baby food jars and asked if she would make some delicious jellies to send as gifts. They were an instant hit with the family, and she was inspired to sell them at the upcoming craft fair for Veterans of Foreign Wars. Ms. Barrie's jellies and jams were quickly bought, and she started bringing 250 jars to the craft fairs she attended. Now, she goes through over 10,000 jars per year.
Ms. Barrie successfully grew Char's Kitchen into a big business. While her products were initially sold at flea markets and craft fairs, now they can be found on the shelves of more than 30 food stores and gift shops throughout South Dakota, as well as in Arizona, Arkansas, North Dakota and Tennessee and other various locations.
Ms. Barrie has also built a website to handle direct purchasing online, shipping her homemade jams, salsa and pickles throughout the United States and the international community.
Working Hard for Perfect Results
Making so many jams is difficult and time-consuming, especially for just one jam-maker. Ms. Barrie has always attributed her success to hard work, putting in upwards of 40 to 60 hours per week, depending on the season.
Despite the difficulty of her work, Ms. Barrie enjoys what she does for a living, seeing the results as gratifying. She comes up with new flavors each season, disregarding the added workload in pursuit of perfect results. Some of Ms. Barrie's most popular items are strawberry rhubarb, raspberry jalapeño and raspberry rhubarb - especially the Chokecherry, a fruit native to South Dakota and North Dakota.
Memberships and Roles Beyond Her Work
Beyond her dedicated work, Ms. Barrie is a member of the Professional Women's Association and a lifetime board member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary. She was president and membership chair of the Conde American Legion and continues to serve as an organization member.
Awards and Recognitions
Ms. Barrie has also received several awards and been featured in numerous magazines, notably Forbes, which acknowledged her for continuing her family's jam-making tradition and expanding it into a successful business. She has operated her business for 28 years, shipped goods to 48 states and 10 different countries, and became licensed by the State of South Dakota and the National Restaurant Association.
Plans Moving Forward
Looking toward the future, Ms. Barrie hopes to be ready for retirement. Additionally, she plans to continue working for at least a few more years, focusing more on either craft fairs or online sales and wholesale orders.
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