Caribbean Broilers (CB) two weeks ago inked a deal to acquire Chippenham Park Eggs, which will immediately give the poultry and meat processor just under six per cent of the egg production and distribution business.

What’s more, CB aims to leverage its marketing resources to push consumption closer to double the industry’s current capacity.

In a press statement issued on Monday, CB said that on Monday, August 8, 2011 it formally acquired the St Ann-based producer of “farm fresh, all natural, premium quality eggs”.

“We are now expanding our focus to offer the Jamaican people another great protein source: Eggs — a 100 per cent Jamaican grown food that is healthy, versatile, convenient and very affordable,” said Mark Haskins, CB Group’s CEO, in a press statement. “Currently, the island’s egg industry produces approximately 11 million dozen eggs annually and the CB Group, through Chippenham Park Eggs, hopes to play a major role growing the market to well over 20 million dozen.

“By educating the public as to how good eggs are for your mind and body, we will grow the local demand, and in turn that will require all egg producers to collectively produce more eggs to satisfy this same demand.”

Yesterday, CB’s corporate affairs manager Dr Keith Amiel told the Business Observer that the Chippenham presently produces approximately 20,000 eggs a day, which translates into over 600,000 dozen eggs a year.

Up to now, CB hadn’t participated in the production or distribution of eggs but over the last five to seven years have provided approximately two-thirds of the pullets — young birds that are a few weeks away from laying eggs — required by the industry.

Now, Amiel says CB will “bring our innovating marketing to the table” to stimulate greater demand for eggs.

“We will play a more significantly leadership role,” said Amiel. “We think the problem was a supply problem not a demand problem… the problem is with marketing.”

Drawing on an egg marketing campaign in the UK, which dubbed eggs “nature’s original fast food” and which led to a 40 per cent increase in consumption, as an example of gains to be had from marketing, Amiel also said that research in newer and better feeds will help production while the continued growth in the hotel industry and an emerging middle class will feed demand for the protein.

Another plan involves incorporating eggs in the school feeding programme to “tackle malnutrition in young children”, which along with the marketing push and growth in certain sectors would “almost double the egg requirement”, according to Amiel.

CB is a leading processor of chicken and more recently has been focused on innovating processes to produce first class pork products through its Caribbean Passion brand

Chippenham, which was sold to CB by the previous owners and operators Ian Banks and his wife Margaret, began egg production in 1990 and prides itself on being among the most eco-friendly facility in Jamaica through its use of bio-degradable packaging, a 900,000 gallon rain water reservoir and a state-of-the-art solar powered pump system.