Meet The Founders

Carisam-Samuel Meisel was founded, as a ship chandler, more than 90 years ago as Samuel Meisel & Company, in Baltimore, Maryland.  The company was established to provide duty free spirits, wines and tobacco products, as well as other staples to the crews of vessels calling on the Ports of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and other ports located on the East Coast of the United States.

By 1950, the company had expanded the supply of the same products, plus fragrances, cosmetics and gift items to the diplomatic corps based in the United States, but primarily in Washington and in New York.
To further our service to the diplomatic corps, in the 1960’s, a high-end boutique, Diplomatic Duty Free Shop ( DDFS ) was established in downtown Washington, DC. This elegant shop offers the finest in high end gifts and accessories and is a must visit for those of our diplomatic clients eligible to shop there.

From these two core businesses of commercial ship supply and service to the diplomatic corps, the company expanded by adding cruise ship supply, as well as provision of its portfolio of products to hotels and resorts within the Western Hemisphere.  By 1985, Carisam-Samuel Meisel, as it was by then known, had become the pre-eminent supplier to the world cruise Industry, a label which we can proudly still claim today.

Since 2001, Carisam has been a proud part of Motta Internacional, S.A., the first duty free company established in the Western Hemisphere.

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