During the recent Carnival in Jamaica Road March, snack brand Sunshine Snacks was quite visible among the festivities. Promotional girls were seen handing out samples to revellers while along Knutsford Boulevard, there were two stations stocked with products for VIPs.

Shantell Hill Alfonso is the marketing manager for Sunshine Snacks Jamaica. She said the brand is all about supporting the community.

“Sunshine Snacks believes in supporting the community and the interest of Jamaica is extremely diverse— dancehall, reggae, electronic and over the last few decades, soca has found a home here and is growing exponentially. It’s no secret that Sunshine Snacks hails from Trinidad, also the home of one the best carnivals in the region and many lovers of carnival see what the brand executes in islands such as Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados and so over the last five years, we have gotten hundreds of sponsorship requests specific to carnival events each year,” she said.

“Why Carnival? Even more than dancehall, patrons have a higher alcohol consumption as a part of the cultural practice of the event, and this is where we play our part by offering a ‘sober experience’ during and post-events providing a safety net to patrons to balance intake prior to them departing the event. You can say we ensure the patrons return home safely. We are happy as a brand to do so as well as to expose new demographics to our range of snacks,” Hill Alfonso told the Jamaica Observer.

The brand recently launched its Day Oh Snacks Banana and Plantain chips, and these were among the focus during the carnival season.

“This year Day Oh Snacks, our all natural brand, was a core focus for brand experience; revellers invested months getting fit and in shape for carnival day and as such it made sense to offer them a snack that is ‘better for you’ and compliments their efforts to be their best self. In addition, we kept some favourites alongside such as our Chee Zees as that’s always a favourite of patrons as well as our peanuts, packing them with the power needed and the perfect balance of sodium needed to refuel them before, during and after a long week of events as well as on the day where power is needed to complete the route,” the marketing manager shared.

Prior to the road march, Sunshine Snacks whetted the appetites of patrons at several lead-up events including I Love Soca.

“Certainly, one of the staple events we support is I love Soca as well as events on the Carnival In Jamaica Season of Excitement. We used the opportunity to sample and drive brand experience for our new brand — Day Oh Snacks, which features our plantain; sea salt and naturally sweet as well as our banana chips. Both of which were very well received by the patrons as well as a few other core snacks from the brand,” Hill Alfonso states.

For the three years that Sunshine Snacks has been involved in carnival, the brand has supported Yard Mas, GenXS as well as Carnival in general through its relationship with the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the Jamaica Tourist Board.

Said Hill Alfonso, “Sunshine Snacks continues to drive our brand across multiple spaces; however, entertainment isn’t a heavy focus for 2025, we are leaning towards sports, community and trade. However, we have always supported major events like Reggae Sumfest, Reggae on The Beach, New Rules and smaller events across both reggae, dancehall and gospel genres.”

From left: Members of the Sunshine Snacks team Jerazeno Bell, strategic business officer; Natalie Nesbeth, human resource specialist; Ovando Bloomfield, marketing and promotions team lead; Shantell Hill-Afonso, marketing manager; Donna Palmer, merchandising supervisor; Vinnette Stephenson, operations and accounts manager; Jorja Clark, brand manager; and Raymon Brahim, country sales manager, Sunshine Snacks; take in the Carnival in Jamaica festivities along Knutsford Boulevard during the road march on April 27, 2025.