NEW entrant in the alcoholic beverage market, 24 Karat beer is moving to significantly increase market shares as it sets a precedent for growth in Jamaica over the next few years.

Manufacturer and entrepreneur Peter Bovell and his business partner Richard Lee are the co-founders and owners of the local start-up company, Two Jamaican Dem, which produces the beer.

Bovell said their aim is to penetrate the local market with an “all natural, no preservatives added, smooth-tasting beer” as the company positions itself to secure ground in a market controlled by big-name players Red Stripe, Heineken, and Guinness.

“If within the next two-three years we can carve out 10 per cent of the market, I think we would be doing very well. To get our products out there we are going to be engaging the wholesales and then restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, and other distributors. We have already started to work with a number of wholesales and the response so far has been satisfying,” Bovell told the Jamaica Observer.

“We see an opportunity and we are taking a long-term approach to penetrate a very mature market [now controlled by the dominant players]. In order to do so, we know that it’s going to be a serious and long uphill battle. Many have tried and failed so our approach is to be in it for the long haul as we slowly work to take away whatever market share we can get,” he stated.

According to Bovell, 24 Karat beer, which was launched earlier this year, has received an encouraging and positive reception locally and in countries such as Barbados where it is being heavily distributed.

“We know that we will not immediately become the number one seller of beers so all we want to do is to begin to carve out a little bit of the market in some countries across the region,” Bovell said, noting the company’s posture for growth which includes plans for expansion into other Caribbean countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

“There is also this massive distribution company in Africa, operating out of seven countries, that wants to sell our product. We are likewise now looking at breweries in the US as we also try to enter that market, among others,” he shared.

Retailed at about $250, the product comes in three variations — a light beer containing 3.8 per cent alcohol; a stout containing 6.5 per cent alcohol; and the regular beer having 4.8 per cent alcohol. The products are currently distributed from a warehouse operated by the company at Collins Green Avenue in St Andrew and is brewed by a Belize-based company, Bowen and Bowen, which handles production and marketing.

The start-up company, as it further builds out a presence in the alcoholic beverage segment, indicated that the roll-out of its upcoming “Rum Berry” product, which is similar in taste to that of a traditional rum punch, is to further ramp up sales in the ready-to-drink beverage market, ultimately propelling more growth for the business.

“Our objective is to not only do well with the business and to push our brand, but to also give customers more choices outside of the few products already offered in the market place. Based on feedback that we have already received regarding the taste profile and price point, there is no doubt that our products will do well,” Bovell opined.