Jamaicans are being encouraged to support local food and drink producers under an initiative now being run by Loshusan supermarkets.

The programme, according to Kenneth Loshusan and Sons CEO Bruce Loshusan, is designed to help a number of producers, the majority of which are small companies that need marketing support.

“Over the years we have always seen a lot of great products come and go, and a lot of them are locally manufactured products that sometimes don’t necessarily have the marketing platform or the funds to market and sustain themselves,” Loshusan told the Jamaica Observer.

“So, being that Jamaica is celebrating its 58th anniversary of Independence this year, and in the environment of COVID, we decided to take an extra step and support these local manufacturers. We can’t just say we love Brand Jamaica without really supporting Brand Jamaica,” he said.

Loshusan explained that under the initiative, which will run for the entire month of August, products made by the 18 companies will be available in two supermarkets for now — Loshusan Barbican and New Kingston, also known as John R Wong.

“It’s the first time we’re trying an initiative like this, so we want to see how it works out, and if it’s successful we’ll definitely branch out to the other stores,” he explained, adding that some of the manufacturers are not in all Loshusan supermarkets islandwide “because logistically it’s hard for them to deliver because they’re so small”.

“So we’re going to start with our two locations where we know we will have a constant supply of their products,” added Loshusan.

The supermarket chain will also promote the products on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

“Hopefully that will help these companies make it through this difficult environment,” he said. “Some are family-owned businesses, some are people that have come up within the last two years.”

Among the companies are Swypz, Quality Harvest, The Jamaican Peanut Butter Factory, Ashebre, Ruby’s Goat Dairy, Tru Juice, Walkerswood, Copperwood, Coffee Roasters, Cafe Blue, PGJ Water, Red Stripe, Elizabeth Meikle Coconut Water, Outland Hurders Creamery & Farmstead, Smart Eggs, Nature’s Charm Condensed Milk, and Sir Henry Pure Vanilla Extract.

“These companies make products that we feel are really innovative and just great,” he said, adding that the promotion will involve point-of-sale shelf talkers.

Discounts and samples are also likely to feature in the promotion.

“It’s a start, and we know that a lot of people, including other food retailers, watch us, so we’re hoping that by doing this we’re actually a catalyst for more things like this in other supermarkets,” Loshusan said.