FOLLOWING the completion of its recent multi-billion-dollar expansion project, Wisynco Group Limited is now positioning itself to strengthen its export profile while opening itself up to new co-packing deals for companies across the region.

This was announced by Wisynco Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Mahfood on Thursday, at the company’s eighth annual general meeting (AGM) which was held at the AC Hotel Kingston.

Wisynco Group began manufacturing some of its iconic brands like Wata in Tetra Pak packaging, along with Bigga and Boom in glass and cans in late 2024. The company has since launched its own alcohol brewing facilities which has seen it introduce its proprietary Legend brand and begin co-packing the Worthy Park rum mix for Worthy Park Estate Limited.

This diverse manufacturing capacity has opened an opportunity for the company to do co-packing or contract packaging of other beverage brands at its Lakespen facility, which can be exported to other markets. Co-packing is a process whereby a business hires another company to manufacture and possibly distribute their proprietary products.

“Wisynco is extremely well-positioned with the most amazing and diverse equipment in the Caribbean. We now have a full range of options to pursue new markets—not just locally, but through exports and contract packing for other brands in various regions, whether they need packaging in plastic, cans, or glass,” the CEO said in his presentation to shareholders.

His cousin and Chairman William Mahfood added, “The reality is what we offer today — [which] nobody else offers in Jamaica — is large-scale manufacturing capacity with cans, glass and plastic. So, we are creating the opportunity for any brand — whether you’re international or local — that [if] you want to partner with a manufacturing facility here that not only has the manufacturing but also has the distribution capabilities, that’s what we bring to the table. That’s what differentiates us.”

Wisynco is currently manufacturing the Stone’s Original Ginger Wine brand after acquiring the production assets of Ringtail Bottlers Limited in its first quarter (July to September). This product is exported globally across the world except for Australia. The CEO said that additional product innovations are coming for the Stone’s brand.

The company’s Legend brand of flavoured beers also represents the company’s push to expand the beer market in Jamaica, which the chairman has described as being flat for nearly three decades. The low alcohol by volume content can also act as a catalyst for non-beer drinkers to take up the product.

When asked by a shareholder about the company’s push into the beer market, the chairman highlighted the company’s experience with its Bigga brand of products and the market shift over three decades.

“In 1996, when we started, it was the Jamaica Drink Company. The entire market for soft drinks in Jamaica was a little over six million cases a year. If you fast-forward to today, the soft drink market in Jamaica, which is ready-to-drink soft drinks, is somewhere about 40 million cases,” William said in his remarks.

He went on to state, “I have told the CEO of our competition [that] he will be the beneficiary of our entry in the market because the market will grow. Do you know the expression of rising tides moves all boats? We’re going to rise the tide.”

While the company had to hold back on some level of marketing due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa, Wisynco will be ramping up its marketing for its new brands in the coming months. The CEO even highlighted that its proprietary Mamba premium stout brand should be launched in the next month, coming less than two months after the M-Powa non-alcoholic malt beverage was launched to the market. These brands will gain even more prominence as they begin to fill the more-than-10,000-company-owned coolers located at restaurants and other establishments.

These new products will form part of the company’s push to ramp up its export plans. Wisynco’s export sales have grown by 177 per cent from $445.28 million in June 2020 to $1.23 billion in June 2025, but these sales represent just two per cent of the company’s overall revenue due to faster growth in the domestic market. The company’s export sales are currently up 44 per cent year on year, according to Andrew.

Although the country’s tourism sector has faced difficulties following the recent hurricane, William doesn’t feel very worried about the quality of receivables from its tourism clients in western Jamaica. He pointed to the COVID-19 experience and how Wisynco has been working with these hotels during this tough period.

“The hotels who might have had challenges during the hurricane, they will bounce back. All of them and more are going to be reopening during the course of the summer into the winter season. My expectations are that we will have the biggest winter [tourism] season in the country’s history in 2026,” William expounded.

Wisynco’s consolidated Q1 revenue improved 11 per cent to $16.19 billion, which represents its highest quarterly revenue recorded in the company’s history. However, the rise in its cost of sales related to its recent expansion saw its gross margin dip from 36.3 per cent to 34.8 per cent, despite experiencing a six per cent rise in gross profit to $5.64 billion. Despite reporting higher operating expenses and having higher finance costs, Wisynco’s profit before tax dipped one per cent to $1.84 billion, with net profit at $1.48 billion.

Wisynco’s asset base grew 11 per cent during the quarter to $45.62 billion, with $6.34 billion in cash and $5.67 billion in investment securities. Total liabilities and equity were $16.50 billion and $29.12 billion, respectively.

Wisynco spent $104.21 million on its land and buildings during its June 2025 financial year. The company is aiming to construct a 60,000-square-foot distribution centre in Lacovia, St Elizabeth, which should employ 50 people when completed.

“We were a little bit delayed in building it but we expect to start this year — hopefully within the second quarter of this calendar year — and finish it before our fiscal year ends in 2027,” Andrew stated in his remarks.

Wisynco closed Thursday at $19.95, which leaves it up seven per cent in 2026 with a market capitalisation of $75.87 billion. Wisynco’s board should consider its first semi-annual dividend in the coming weeks. The company’s second-quarter report is also due by February 14.

Lelani Hunt was appointed head of finance on January 5 following the retirement of Group Financial Controller Jacinth Bennett on December 31.