As a young man growing up in Ethiopia, Thomas Melessi always knew his calling.
At seven, he told his family he was going to share with the world a unique drink invented by his grandmother, Almaz Melessi, that combined honey, lemon and cinnamon.
Ten years later, and still living in Ethiopia, Melessi opened his own convenience store specifically to bottle and sell the beverage, Honey Spice.
Seven years ago, Melessi moved to Canada with little knowledge of the English language but a strong determination to launch his beverage.
Last year, his reached his goal and has recently moved production to Leduc.
Village drink
The origins of Honey Spice date back to Melessi's youth. His grandmother, Almaz, living in a village called Dese, wanted to create a special treat for her husband, who was diabetic.
She combined honey and lemon with a hefty dose of cinnamon and Honey Spice was born.
"She created this drink," Melessi said. "She shared the recipe with family, who loved it."
Classified as a tea, Honey Spice is an all-natural beverage made with Alberta honey that does not contain preservatives.
Melessi was raised on the beverage and said when he was given Honey Spice during a bout of illness, would immediately start to feel better.
Almaz shared the recipe with friends and neighbours and eventually started her own business in Dese to keep up with demand.
One restaurant owner in particular from a neighbouring village in Ethiopia said nobody would come to his restaurant unless Honey Spice was on the menu.
Even while Melessi was growing up, his family would constantly remind him of the promise he had made to his grandmother when he was seven.
"I promised her, I'm going to share it with the world. Then when I grew up, it was still in my mind because I loved her, she raised me," he said.
Launching Honey Spice would have been nearly impossible to do in Ethiopia, said Melessi.
Canadian dreams
Even after coming to Canada, Melessi said his goal of becoming a businessman never faded.
In March, 2009, he launched Dehnamar Inc., which makes Honey Spice, and took the reins as CSO (chief spicing officer). The name "Dehnamar" means "good honey" in the Amharic language, the most commonly spoken in Ethiopia.
Melessi said he was surprised by how many beverages in North America were packaged, as opposed to the fresh drinks often found in his native Ethiopia.
He said he noticed many Canadians turning away from carbonated drinks, an observation that helped him to realize the value of his product.
In Canada, Melessi said he was inspired and began talking about launching Honey Spice with his Canadian friends, who were very supportive of his decision.
In 2009, he came across the novaNAIT business incubator in St. Albert.
The facility rents office space and offers business advice to entrepreneurs, with a focus on applied research, enterprise development and technology transfer.
Dehnamar Inc., was able to rent office space from the facility while staff assisted Melessi in launching Honey Spice in Canada. He's even set up a website to promote his product, www.dehnamar.com.
"After I gave them a sample, they believed this is going to be a good business because [Honey Spice] is simple, healthy to drink and … it tastes delicious," recalled Melessi.
He even made a brief appearance in a commercial promoting St. Albert as a welcoming and innovative business community.
Last year, Melessi began selling Honey Spice at the St. Albert Farmers' Market.
Graduating from an incubator
Earlier this month, Dehnamar Inc., graduated from novaNAIT St. Albert and moved its head office to Edmonton.
Melessi said Dehnamar has plans to launch a ginger ale-type beverage in the near future.
For now, he continues to be the company's chief spicing officer and to promote Honey Spice throughout the Capital region.
"I'd love for people to drink it in all of Canada," said Melessi.
He said he is grateful for the support he's received from Canadians, in particular St. Albertans, whom he credits for helping to launch Honey Spice in Canada.
"St. Albert's people were my first supporters."
