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About French’s

Jacqueline French was born in Port au Prince, Haiti in 1940. In 1959 she left Haiti to attend college in Kingston, Jamaica. Jacqueline attended the College du Sacré Coeur. After two years of study, Jacqueline received her degree in English and Commercial Advertising. In 1960 she returned to Haiti to teach English for just three months before returning to school to study 19^th Century French Literature. In 1963 Jacqueline immigrated to the United States.

In 1972 Jacqueline started her own business to supplement her income to aid in the support of her son’s special education. Her son was born with cerebral palsy. The school Jacqueline enrolled her son into was for students with special needs and was quite expensive. The family income did not suffice to cover the costs.

One day after a doctor’s appointment for her son, Jacqueline thought of a product that is native to her island of Haiti, that many people drink every day. It was not costly yet provided many nutrients to a population of people who had limited income. With this thought in mind, her lifelong journey would be born to be an entrepreneur with the launch of Acassan or AK-100. In the Haitian tradition, Acassan is consumed as a meal with perhaps a side of pastry or bread with peanut butter.

After three months of perfecting the recipe, Jacqueline established her business, producing it from her home kitchen. Her husband and children helped her in the bottling, labeling and boxing of the Acassan. The local telephone directory was used to identify Haitian families in the Cambria Heights area of Queens where she and her family resided. Through her telemarketing campaign, 70 out of 100 families opted to have Acassan delivered to their home. She ran the business during the evenings and weekends while working full time as a secretary at WNEW-TV.

During her first year, the business profited enough to compensate Jacqueline to pay her son’s school tuition. Also, because of her success, she began the plan of opening a small store in the neighborhood. Jacqueline consulted with her longtime family friend, Ernst Oriol who suggested that she devise a business plan to include other products like Haitian pastries, cola and sandwiches.

In 1973, Jacqueline enrolled at the Long Island Institute of Technology to study Business Organization and Administrative Management while simultaneously renting a small store front with room in the back to make the Acassan and a small diner set up in the front of the store.

With a small sum of starting capitol, Jacqueline was able to expand her operation to begin selling the Acassan in retail stores. Before she knew it, the demand for Acassan exceeded her production capabilities and she quickly outgrew her small store front and manufacturing area.

In 1974, Jacqueline applied for and received a Small Business Loan. The loan enabled her to move the manufacturing portion of the business to a larger facility of 1500 square foot. In 1976 sales had grown so much that she needed more square footage for manufacturing at which point she relocated to Long Island City, New York where she rented a building of 6200 square feet.

By 1982, sales from the business had grown to approximately, $1,000,000.00.

By 1995 Jacqueline moved away from manufacturing herself. Acassan, AK-100 was private labeled in Batavia, New York until 2016. Acassan, AK-100 is now private labeled in Kingston, Jamaica. Acassan, AK-100 is sold throughout the continental United States, Haiti, St. Marteen, the Bahamas and Canada.

AK-100