MEET MONICA CHIA FROM KARIMIX
Karimix, based in the pretty rural village of Selling near Faversham, has been incorporating the traditional aromas and flavours of South-East Asia in a delicious range of handmade and artisan pickles, relishes, chutneys, curry pastes and sauces for more than a decade.
Entrepreneur Monica Chia is Karimix’s Managing Director, and has been running Karimix since 2005, taking it in recent years from a small artisan business to a Grade A BRC (British Retail Consortium) accredited manufacturer of high quality, innovative products. The company has won numerous awards and accolades, and is now operating on a global scale, with orders from all over the world.
Although educated largely in England, Monica grew up in Singapore and the Karimix range is heavily influenced by the flavours of her native home.
Monica said: “I have always been inspired by the mixture of Far and South-East Asian cultures and fusion cuisine,” said Monica. “Although I was educated in the UK I have travelled extensively from a very young age. I was always fascinated with local ingredients, cooking techniques, flavours and culture.”
“The importance of good ingredients is crucial to our success. We are lucky enough to be situated in the heart of the Garden of England, so we use local produce wherever possible. All Karimix products are also without artificial additives and GM free.”
The abundance of local produce has been put to good use for one of Karimix’s most recent projects, working with Shepherd Neame to create a bespoke tomato chutney. All tomatoes used are sourced from Thanet Earth near Birchington.
She added: “Karimix has seen tremendous growth in recent years as there has been a growing demand for world flavours. Our aim is to combine the finest Kentish produce with global flavour trends, working directly with chefs to understand their needs. We have a fantastic team who are passionate about what they do, and it is so rewarding to see our business going from strength to strength.”
To find our more about Karimix and their products visit https://karimix.com
You can also read more about our partnership with them in our blog post