KINGSTON, Jamaica – CARIBBEAN Broilers (CB) has officially launched what’s being billed as Jamaica’s first dedicated pork retail store.

The outlet, located on Slipe Road in Kingston, sells CB Group’s own Copperwood line of fresh pork. Copperwood Pork Store, however, is an essential marketing tool, it is felt, that will boost overall consumption of locally grown pork.

“Our establishing a dedicated pork store is an important step in helping to grow the overall pork market and getting pig farmers feeling more secure about growing to meet the local demands. Copperwood’s sole focus has been to raise the standards of the pork industry while supporting pig farmers,” said Bob Mason, sales manager at Copperwood Pork Store.

CB invested more than $10 million in the new 1,200 square-foot facility, which the company said promotes special cuts of pork not typically available in supermarkets and wholesales.

The store is also aimed at educating consumers about the numerous ways to prepare different cuts of pork, while “dispelling the notion” that pork is unhealthy, Mason said.

According to the sale manager, “the idea behind the pork store was to have yet another outlet that provides healthy, clean meat. We would never dream of taking business away from the grocery outlets that support us. The vision is to give customers just another avenue to purchase the best tasting and safest meat for their families and enjoy that shopping experience.”

CB Group’s chief operating officer, Matthew Lyn added that Jamaican pork needs the “visibility and marketing”. He noted that pork is the most widely consumed meat in the world, but “accounts for only about five per cent of the meat we eat” in Jamaica.

“We need to get people crazy about buying, cooking and eating pork and through the Pork Store, we hope to show that pork is not only the ‘sweetest meat’, but it’s wholesome, accessible and affordable,” Lyn said.

“Through initiatives like the pork store… We believe that if we can show that our Jamaican pork can safely be delivered with a consistent quality to the consumer and educate them about pork, including how to prepare it, we’ll be able to help grow the entire industry,” he stated.

CB Group for more than two decades has been a market leader in the supply and production of food products, with brands such as CB Chicken, Caribbean Passion, Chippenham Eggs, and (Omega 3) Eggs.

Within the last 10 years, the Hendrickson-family run group decided to expand into pork production. Ham, sausage, and bacon under the Caribbean Passion brand, can be found in the island’s supermarkets. The most recent addition is the fresh pork line, Copperwood, characterised by lean, tender, choice cuts packaged in blue, sleek tray packs, which can also be found on the shelves of the nation’s grocery stores.

CB Group has invested more than $200 million over the last two years to increase capacity and upgrade their processing plant and farms to be “Certified SAFE”. Copperwood Pork, like CB Chicken, is produced in an ISO 9001:2008, HACCP and GMP certified facility.

“At Copperwood, we believe that good food starts with good farms. As such, we have invested in the best breeds of animals,” said Robert Hunt, the man in charge of the field operation at Copperwood Pork, with responsibility for getting the best quality pigs into the processing plant

“We pride ourselves in hand-picking our animals to ensure the highest quality meat. From the field, meat is produced and packaged in the only ISO 9001:2008, GMP and HACCP certified facility in the Caribbean then transported in chilled trucks, in keeping with CB’s commitment to providing safe food,” he said.

According to Lyn, his company is focused on helping Jamaica’s pork industry double in size within 10 years.

“By providing quality cuts of the meat, we can inspire Jamaicans to eat more pork which then means we support our farmers, we create and keep more jobs in our economy, we import less, we will need less foreign exchange and we create food security for our country,” he said.

CB at the start of the year began exporting Copperwood Pork to a few Caribbean countries.