By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The entrepreneur behind the popular Bahamian-made drink, Switcha, yesterday asserted he is “100 percent” confident the brand will escape voluntary liquidation and emerge even stronger.

Mervin Sweeting, who founded the company in 2007, told Tribune Business that the issues which resulted in newspaper notices last week advertising that Switcha Bahamas has been placed into a “voluntary” winding-up are “being resolved” and there is “no real material effect” on its operations and production.

The brand’s creditors were given 14 days to submit their claims, including details of the debts owed to them, after the Baker Tilly Gomez accounting firm was named as voluntary liquidators with effect from May 7, 2025. But Mr Sweeting, while giving few precise details on what has caused this situation other than alluding to the COVID pandemic’s impact, voiced optimism he can regain ownership control.

“I’m 100 percent. We will be covered. No issues,” the Switcha principal told this newspaper. “There’s no issues. That’s why I put no material issues [in the statement]. It’s being resolved as we speak. There’s no question. No question.” 

Explaining that what he confronts is no different to someone who loses their home because they fail to keep up with mortgage payments, Mr Sweeting added that “everybody has their own challenges” as he reiterated confidence in his own ability to retrieve the situation.

“I’m 100 percent, and that’s why I can smile with you,” he said. “It may be something that looks like a defeat, but a defeated person would not speak like this. It’ll be fine. The brand and drink are going to move forward. There’s so much more to come. Entrepreneurship is like a chess board; that’s what it is. You have your strategies, you have your pawns, and sometimes you have to give them up in order to win.”

Craig A. ‘Tony’ Gomez, the Baker Tilly Gomez accountant and partner, said he did not discuss client business publicly when contacted by Tribune Business and declined to comment other than to confirm the advertisement’s details and the firm’s appointment as voluntary liquidators. He is joined in that capacity by fellow accountant Terez Simmons.

Tribune Business understands that Switcha’s voluntary liquidation has resulted from Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) bid to realise its collateral, or loan security, under a debenture it holds over the company’s assets. It is thought that around $1m is owed to the Canadian-owned lender on a loan that the company has presently defaulted on.

Baker Tilly Gomez, in its capacity as voluntary liquidator, will be empowered to take control of Switcha’s operations, plant and other assets including its bank accounts. However, it is thought likely that it will continue existing beverage production operations and may even rely heavily on Mr Sweeting to still run day-to-day management given his expertise and knowledge.

One well-placed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business that Mr Gomez and his team are likely to focus on “preserving the brand and the existing operation” at least in the short-term as they work to determine the best options for recovering and realising the sums owed to RBC and other creditors.

They added that, given Switcha’s relative popularity and recognition among Bahamian consumers, it made sense to keep drinks production going especially as there is likely to be value in the brand’s name and intellectual property.

“This is an established brand that is quite popular, and it’s quite popular in a broad arena of our society,” the source said. “It’s widely accepted and the name rings a bell with every Bahamian. That’s the type of product the liquidators will be dealing with.

“It’s a good brand and good product that is known by many. The smaller retailers seem to think that it’s a very hot item. It’s still very much a popular product in the beverage industry.” The Switcha founder, though, will likely have to raise sufficient new capital and financing to largely repay RBC if he is to regain full ownership control.

Mr Sweeting, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, said Switcha had been forced to “pivot” due to COVID-19, which resulted in lockdowns, health restrictions and other measures that severely limited commerce and business earnings for much of 2020 and 2021. However, he promised there is “more to come” once the drinks manufacturer emerges from voluntary liquidation.

“The matter is being resolved as we speak; no real material effects,” Mr Sweeting added. “However, due to the COVID-19 fall-out we had to pivot. Although it was challenging for a myriad of reasons, the new path turned out to be even greater than we anticipated. 

“We forged alliances with production and distribution giants. The growth of the brand has been an amazing experience with more to come. Entrepreneurship is a chess board. You need strategy and pawns in order to survive and win.”

Mr Sweeting, in a 2014 interview with Tribune Business, recalled how the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) turned him down for financing in 2009, branding his project ‘non-viable’.

“I still have my letter from the Development Bank in 2009, when they told me my project wasn’t viable,” he revealed. “In the beginning it was discouraging, but I took that discouragement and made it work. Now I sit on the same technical panels as the BDB that told me the project was not viable and we can’t help you.

“The company started in 2007. I started it in my kitchen, and went on to the East-West Highway where I stayed for two years, selling product on the side of the road.” Switcha’s name is a play on what older generations used to call limeade or lemonade.

“What our company decided to do was bring back that culture and also mass produce this beverage, which is loved by all and by far the best tasting and freshest limeade/lemonade on the market, as we only use real citrus,” Switcha said in its promotion on the Government’s online trade portal.

RBC appears to have embarked on a drive to clean up relatively small delinquent commercial loans in recent months, having also placed Geneva Brass Seafood into receivership over a debt believed similar to that owed by Switcha.