A word from the CEO

Our dream began in this small development on the northern coast of Honduras. My son Ryan and I have been traveling to Honduras since 2012. We loved it so much that we built a home, just outside of Trujillo, which is nestled amidst the cluster of trees in the bottom-left of the following photo.

Alta Vista development near Trujillo

My husband Ken and I enjoy our winters there, every year.

Our experiences with the people and cultures in Honduras have been very positive. They're welcoming and always ready to lend a hand. We're especially fond of our neighbours in Guadalupe, a small Garafuna village about 5 minutes from our place. Promoting education there is a passion. Honduras has become a second home for us. 

I have worked for our Alta Vista community since 2016. I was President of the homeowners' association of our residential community, between 2019 and 2021. I continue to work with the HOA and our legal committee. Years ago I kicked off and managed a business in the Canadian maritimes. I may be retired, but I won't stand still.

And then suddenly, a new itch: vanilla.

I love to bake. While in Trujillo, I came across Drogueria Nacional's vanilla essence. I baked with it for years, and the taste was just unbelievable. So I kept bringing bottles of it back home to Canada each spring. Vanilla in Canada is so pricey! This is a great alternative.

Ryan suggested we import vanilla from Honduras. 

So that's how it started: with vanilla. Because it was tasty, and because we believe it's a quality product that solves the problem of overpriced vanilla in Canada. 

Ryan and I are both entrepreneurs at heart. We can't help ourselves: we need to have projects. Ryan's dreamed of starting a business for years. We made friends in Honduras over time, and they have entrepreneur friends who have other entrepreneur friends... and so on. You get it. A great pool of skilled friends and family in Canada were also interested in being part of the adventure... So here it is, the perfect storm of opportunity. Mother and son leaped and founded R&J MacDonald Corp. with the support of an enthusiastic Board of Directors.

That's our entrepreneurship dream. In the end, we want to have fun and share the adventure with our partners and communities who trust us to represent the beauty of Honduras and its neighbouring countries at home. If we succeed, our partners succeed.  We'll do everything in our power so that the communities who create the products we love succeed as well. We're on a mission to share. 

— Jill.

Jill MacDonald, CEO

Jill is Co-founder and CEO

Jill's husband, Ken served in the military for 42 years. Jill was a nurse for 40 years before retiring in 2011. They lived in multiples cities across eastern Canada, including Port Elgin, New-Brunswick, before settling in Ottawa, Ontario, close to Ryan, his partner Amélie and their baby boy, Théo.