NEW YORK, USA — GroceryList Ja, the online platform which allows Jamaicans across the Diaspora to purchase groceries and other essential items directly from local stores in Jamaica and have the items delivered to relatives and friends in real time, says it has racked up an impressive $60 million in revenue in the 16 months since it was launched.

The company said it has spent more than $10 million on part-time salaries benefiting more than 1,500 people. But it was unable to provide figures relating to any profit at this time, according to CEO Rory Richards who said that “this is due to the fact that the company remains a boot string operation”.

Richards suggested that it was not customary for start-ups to begin to realise a positive return on their investments before about three years.

In a press statement in which he provided an update on the company’s performance Richards noted that GroceryList Ja is now operating in all 14 parishes of Jamaica, and that the company has handled over 3,000 orders while assisting more than 1,600 customers.

He said that there is a high retention rate (over 50 per cent) of customers and that plans are now on the drawing board to increase the number of customers to 5,000 during the current year.

He and co-founder Jermain Morgan are currently in the process of looking to provide additional services to those now in place.

“One such service being looked at for 2024 is to provide extraordinary opportunities for Jamaican farm workers, as well as workers contracted to work in the overseas hotel programme, through lower service charges, free deliveries, and discounts to these groups — thus enabling them to support their families in real time while fulfilling their contracts.

Richards reported that the company would be targeting between 4,500 and 5,000 farm workers, and an estimated 13,000 hospitality workers from Jamaica who work in the United States each year on H-2A and H-2B vivas.

“The company has already reached out to Karlene Brown, the liaison officer for the Jamaica Central Labour Organization, on this aspect of our plans,” he affirmed. “She has shown a positive response, which suggests a promising outcome for collaboration and a positive impact on Jamaican businesses and farm workers.

“We will also be targeting the billion-dollar remittance service, as the company works to expand and diversify its operations to include hardware, farm stores, and department stores as part of the mix of services,” the CEO said.

Richards and Morgan both had high praises for Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami Oliver Mair, and his office, for assisting with the growth of the company, saying that GroceryList Ja was able to use many of the events undertaken by the consulate to introduce and promote its objectives.