MONTEGO Bay-based manufacturer Orijin is pressing ahead with plans to complete the roll-out of its new Orijin Organic Farms Baby Food line of products despite setbacks occasioned by disruptions to the global supply chain.

The company launched its first product in the new line, Solely Banana Organic Baby Food, in September last year and then in early November 2021 launched Merely Mango. Now, Orijin is getting ready to add two more flavours to the line, according to Marketing Manager Kevin Davis.

“We had some logistical challenges with everything that was happening with the pandemic, hence why we have been phasing in the flavours as we have done. We believe in the process. It may be slow in getting all that we want to market because we are focusing on four flavours, and we have two so far,” he told Jamaica Observer.

When pressed about the new products and a timetable for their launch, Davis responded, “…By the end of this month into February we should have” the two new products — Wholly Pear and Only Apple.

The marketing manager noted that the launch of Orijin Organic Farms Baby Food reflects the company’s focus on providing organic, plant-based products and promoting a healthy lifestyle, adding that Orijin is the first company in the Caribbean to create organic baby food.

In addition, he said the company also aimed at making the product as affordable as possible without compromising on quality.

“If you do a comparative analysis just by doing a Google search of organic baby food, you can do the US-dollar conversion and see what a packet in the same size goes for in US dollars versus what we’re selling for at the shelf, which is averaging about $130. So we have it for less than a US$1 whereas the others are retailing for US$2 upward per pack,” Davis pointed out.

So far, he said, based on focus groups conducted in western Jamaica among parents and paediatricians, feedback has been “extremely encouraging”, with parents taking note of the products’ nutritional benefits, reduced sugar content, and price point.

Orijin Organic Farms Baby Food is available widely except in Portland, St Thomas, Trelawny, and St Elizabeth. In addition, Davis informed Business Observer that the product should also be available in the Cayman Islands.

“We have actually sold some into Cayman in early December. We have it in Foster’s in Cayman now…and the feedback is also very encouraging. And one of the main reasons they took it was that they never had a lot of the organic baby food, especially one from the Caribbean,” he stated.

While Orijin has plans to launch other products in 2022, Davis said immediate plans are to get the baby food into the Caribbean markets where it has a footprint with its cold-storage juices, as well as in North America, the UK, and other markets with a Jamaican Diaspora presence.

The company currently exports to Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Lucia.

In terms of capital outlay for Orijin Organic Farms Baby Food and return on investment, principal Mark McConnell shared: “We invested $80 million in machinery, equipment and training and should earn about $100 million potentially per year for new products.”

As the company looks to source more local fruits for its products, plans are also afoot to improve linkages with the local farmers.

“For now, we are importing but we do have a plan to work with local farmers so as to get them to produce that particular quality and importantly, the quantity that we want. As you can appreciate, we have to get a certain quantity at a particular price point so as to have it make sense to our Jamaican consumer and, of course, we have to compete with the imported brands. But it is something we’re very proud of, it’s something we’re committed to and it’s something that we’re going to push forward on.”