“Mummy, you should sell this and become a millionaire.”

These were the words that led Shanice Prince to start her own business.

A registered nurse by profession, Prince, who lives in Signal Hill, Tobago, is the owner and founder of the family-run business Tom Tom’s Local Confectioneries.

She told Newsday it began with a chocolate fudge recipe that a family friend shared with her .

“I learned to make the fudge by one of my ‘second mummies’ – her name is Beverly Black-Williams. She sells these at the (ANR Robinson International) Airport.”

In 2016, she launched her own venture, producing what she described as the “creamiest, smooth-textured, melting-in-your-mouth old-fashioned coconut-flavored fudge.”

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Tom Tom’s manufactures and distributes Tobago indigenous sweets, but it’s no longer limited to coconut fudge. She also makes bene balls, sugar cake and red mango, to name a few other goodies.

A past student of Scarborough Secondary School who is completing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Prince said: “Tom Tom’s coconut fudge is already a hit. I put my best foot forward into making it and my customers enjoy it.”

The mother of three boys, she said the business was named after one of her sons, and is her way of leaving a legacy for them.

“Our business is profitable at this time. Our business helps take care of our family.”

Its name comes from her second son, Jadon: “’Tom Tom’ is his home name.

“Jadon is the one who inspired me to start this business. He was like, ‘Mummy, why don’t we sell the fudge? Mummy, you should sell this and become a millionaire.’

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“The idea was a good one, and that is how Tom Tom’s Local Confectioneries started.”

She said over the years many doors have opened for the business.

“I think that it’s more than just Tobago’s sweets. Persons who long for it, who used to live here, who visited here, and they go back – they always ask about it. So I wanted to open a business where it can go beyond the shores of TT, where we can export.

“When you walk into lanes in Brooklyn and these stores, you see Zoomers, you see all kinds of TT snacks, but my whole aim is to get Tobago’s indigenous sweets out there as well.”

In Tobago, her products can be found at Farouk’s Mini Mart in Signal Hill, all branches of Pennysavers and View Port, and RT Morshead, as well as various other shops and minimarts.

She has also participated in events such as the Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) and Tobago Day in New York.

With Tom Tom’s now making a name for itself, Prince is satisfied and ready to take Tobago’s indigenous sweets around the globe.

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“We have set goals for this business, and our main goal is for all our customers who constantly ask us about shipping to their various countries to be able to see our product on shelves near you, both locally and inte