The objective of our organisation is to… create products from local raw materials.

So from ginger we make: ginger beer, ginger filling, ginger concentrate, etc.,

From tamarind: tamarind concentrate, tamarind sauce, tamarind filling and tamarind puree, etc.

Our major challenges were… financing. The food processing Unit of the Scientific Research Council, SRC, is not equipped with modern machines, resulting in frequent breakdown of machines. Initially, the price of raw material and its availability, as well as packaging.

We overcame these by… borrowing from friends and by managing the available cash effectively.

Machines: We utilised whatever equipment was available, including those at the SRC Food Processing Unit.

Price of raw material: We sourced the raw materials wherever and whenever they were available. We purchased in season when the prices were low. We also forward-purchased with producers and engaged farmers to plant.

Packaging: This is not totally resolved. Right now we rely on Pack Mart. With improved financing this will be resolved.

We have… over 13 products on the market of which our Ginger Beer, All-Purpose Herbal Seasoning and Spicy & Crunchy Coconut are the latest additions. The ginger beer and all-purpose herbal seasoning were introduced to the market in September 2015, and the Spicy & Crunchy Coconut Chips will be on sale in the marketplace in another week or so.

Our products are available at… Loshusan, Sovereign, the Hi Lo chain of supermarkets, Empire, Fresh Approach, Lee’s, Brooklyn chain of supermarkets and Devon House.

The response to date has been… fantastic! People call and commend us all the time. We do not have returned goods.

We are growing the business to the point where… it becomes totally mechanised and listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange – where the farmers, our producers, make a decent living.

Our focus is on export, which will become a major revenue earner and we’ll become the beacon of agro processing.

Our breakthrough came when… we did not replenish products on time at True Value, Sovereign and John R Wong supermarkets. both customers and supermarkets personnel called requesting the products – ASAP.

The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, the Courtleigh Hotel & Suites, Knutsford Court Hotel and HEART Runaway Bay have consistently used our products.

Jamaicans ought to support our products because… we have developed and continue to develop excellent products that are second to none. Jamaicans are looking for quality products whether from home or abroad. Our products are quality products.

If we knew then what we know now… We would have started business earlier.