ROOTS Financial Group is shedding more light on the objectives behind its recent acquisition of Jamaican restaurant chain Mother’s Enterprises Limited (Mother’s), saying the aim is to create new market spaces for Jamaicans to experience Mother’s as well as Mother’s other brands, Pimentos Restaurant and Devon House Bakery.

“We are going to be coming up with creative new ideas, creative new destination experiences and creative products that make us become a household name,” said Sheldon Seymour, the managing director-designate of Mother’s.

Former investment banker Kevin Donaldson, the principal owner of Roots Financial, believes that this objective is in alignment with the group’s overall business strategy.

“Roots itself is invested in five industries,” he explained. “This is not the first food company. The structure of our investments largely surrounds developing companies to become exportable or expand beyond the borders of Jamaica and the Caribbean. So the industries that we are invested in are logistics. You have the QuickCart acquisition. We are involved in Caribshopper then we get into fintech with WiPay. So now our payment provider allows any retailer or entrepreneur to get online and sell their products.”

“So how Mother’s fits into that now [is] it becomes a part of an ecosystem where you can leverage all that is good about Jamaica and bring it to the fore and to the international space and just build on what we have,” he continued. “That’s the goal. We want to create a Jamaican brand that has legs.”

In terms of the current menu, operations and branding this vision will mean building on what already exists.

“I think the products we have are excellent,” Seymour expressed. “We are going to introduce new products that are going to enhance the experience. Most of what I want to focus on over the coming months is enhancing the customer service and the experience to our patrons and our guests so that they not just have a great experience with the food but a great experience with the service.”

“We are going to be looking at the lay of the land, the layout of the respective stores so that we can bring more creativity to the market space and that the customers have a good experience every time they think about Mother’s,” he elaborated.

Seymour further explained that the expansion process will focus on making the brand more available and accessible to a wider market.

“We are going to try and find locations that become not just a QSR (quick service restaurant) but a whole destination experience so we are looking for those opportunities,” he informed.

Once again referencing how the new acquisition can leverage the assets of the Roots Financial Group, Donaldson hinted at a possible development involving the Summit commercial centre.

“You would have known that we made an acquisition of Knutsford Court Hotel and turned it into Summit and what we are trying to do here is make it a destination for people,” he related. “Hopefully, that will be one of those opportunities because right now we have the food village there and we are building out different experiences and naturally we will see how Mother’s and the different brands they have could fit into that. That’s something that we will look at, but we are going to move in a very systematic way to ensure that we bring value to all the stakeholders.”

Future plans will have no negative implications for current employees at Mother’s, Seymour insisted. The managing director-designate said the only implication will be looking forward to further growth and opportunity for growth. He lauded the Mother’s team of management and staff for having done an excellent job in maintaining the brand.

Seymour also assured that suppliers, clients and other stakeholders doing business with Mother’s can expect business as usual. The executive, who has worked in the Jamaican hospitality industry for 25 years, explained that he has developed a strong relationship over time with industry stakeholders so he expects a smooth transition.

The vision of new market spaces for customers to experience Mother’s extends to the overseas market.

“Just like the other brands that have gone international for Jamaica, we are going to create something that all of us can be proud of,” Donaldson stated emphatically.

Seymour reinforced this idea.

“We are going to be coming up with creative new ideas, creative new destination experiences and creative products that make us become a household name and we are looking beyond just Jamaica, now,” he said. “We want to see how far we can go globally with the market space.”

Naturally, appealing to a global market will involve capitalising on global trends, and Seymour informed that customers can look out for healthier food options as well.

“We are going to be catering to most palates and the thing is that we are going to be bringing to the table some new dishes that will definitely cater to the palate for a holistic experience in the QSR space,” he revealed.

Donaldson continued to reinforce the idea that the new vision is not so much a change but more building on the foundations that have already been laid.

“Mother’s is a great Jamaican brand and we grew up on it and saw the opportunity for this brand to become greater than what it is today, and I actually knew the founders and they have done a great job creating a product,” he stated. “We are going to leverage everything to ensure that we don’t slow the progress that they have made through the pandemic and grow it.

“All the things that we are involved with, there are synergies there from payment services to the properties that we are developing. There is a lot that this acquisition will benefit from.”