Charbel Assemaani is animated when he talks about his yogurt company. Originally from Lebanon, this 2015 EARTH graduate is now based in the heart of the Caribbean in Antigua and Barbuda, about a thousand miles to the east of Jamaica and half that distance from Trinidad on the coast of South America. For Charbel, this has been the perfect location to put his EARTH education into practice by making high quality dairy products and contributing to the local economy.
Just after graduating, Charbel started working at the biggest dairy industry in Lebanon. He and his wife then moved to Antigua to manage a family business. He soon realized there was a gap in the market for healthy yogurt options, and this was when Semani Yogurt was born.
“When I was working on starting the business it took time to test everything, to make a product that was healthy, carefully crafted, and had a good shelf life without adding preservatives. At the beginning it took a while to start in the market—we had to work on the production. . I checked my notes from my Food Processing class with Professor Yanine Chan and that really helped us. She had really inspired me. Now, after a couple of years, things are going really well, and people love it. We are in all major supermarkets and in most of the small stores all over the island. We sell our products to hotels and restaurants, who use the yogurt in their kitchens. The knowledge I gained from my classes at EARTH helped us a lot to start the business, to think about all the aspects in setting it up and the ways to make it successful.”
Charbel was first introduced to EARTH when he was visiting family in Costa Rica. “I came to see the campus in Guácimo as I had already started an agriculture degree program in Lebanon. I immediately loved EARTH—who does not love EARTH when you go? So that’s how my journey began.”
Charbel drew on various experiences in creating Semani. “I had always been interested in food processing. I completed my EARTH Internship at a winery in Santa Barbara, California. After graduating, I worked in the industrial part of food processing at a large dairy company in Lebanon.”
Semani started with fruit and plain and full fat and nonfat options. The plain yogurt has just two simple ingredients—the milk and the culture. The yogurt is made one day and delivered the next. This fresh and natural aspect has given him and his team a place in a competitive market. They recently added Greek yogurt and are currently making plans to produce more items, including cheese and milk. “Every year we’re trying to increase production and variety.”
Charbel looks back on his time at EARTH with a deep gratefulness. “You know, when you are in place you sometimes don’t think about it a lot. But when you leave it, you see how great it was. I miss how we all lived together and the close relationships between teachers and students. It was a such a nice community, and each day they made us love agriculture more and more. The classes were the focus, but when I look back I see the people—the “madrinas” (the ladies who serve food at the cafeteria), the professors, it was a big family.”
Charbel is excited for the future of Semani. “We’ve reached a stage of making a high-quality product, and we’ve perfected the whole chain from production to market. Things don’t move so fast here on the island, so we plan realistically. Hopefully in a couple of years we can expand even more. We have all the materials and equipment to make high quality products, great packaging, and a professional transportation system with refrigerated coolers. We started from nothing, but we are getting there. We are really proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Charbel is yet another graduate making a difference in the world by producing and promoting healthy food. We wish him and his wife continued success with their entrepreneurial project!
