John Myers Jr., Business Reporter

Product catalogue of Caribbean Broilers' Caribbean Passion range of convenient meat products.

The Caribbean Broilers Group, producers of cb chicken, has gone mainstream with its Caribbean Passion brand to exploit the growing prepared foods market, now estimated at some $8 billion in annual sales.

Caribbean Broilers has invested more than $200 million to put in place a fully integrated production system - 'from farm to fork'- to guarantee and maintain the quality of meats produced and processed for the market.

The food products have been on the market for six years, and was mainly sold in the hotels, according to the company.

But earlier this year, Caribbean Passion hit supermarket shelves, adding to the local offerings in a sector dominated by imports.

Caribbean Broilers group marketing manager, Roger Thompson, says the brand is doing well, commanding by the company's estimate 30 per cent of the local hotel market and 85 per cent of the retail market.

Competing with imports

"I think we have covered a lot of ground in the last year to year and a half and our business has increased over 250 per cent in the last year," said Thompson. "You would admit that we are competing with first world imports."

Those imports had left little room for the products of local processors, at least initially, largely because of logistical issues and lack of know-how.

"So, having now tied up the supply end which is having a proper feed source, proper breeding practices, proper field management practices and getting in place proper processing and cold storage facilities, we can end up with a successful brand," said Thompson.

Pork products account for the greater portion of the Caribbean Passion range, which includes fresh pork, ready-to-eat corned pork and ham, pre-seasoned breakfast sausages and bacon.

"The local response logically was to go that way especially as jerk pork is developing a name of its own," said Dr. Keith Amiel, cb's manager of corporate affairs.

Amiel says pork is the most popular meat in the world.

"A lot of people when they look in the stores and see the pretty piece of pork, they are proud to know that this is Jamaican pork as opposed to a frozen slab of meat," added Thompson.

The company also offers chicken ham, as well as, smoked chicken and chicken frankfurters.

Growing sales

While not revealing total sales figures for competitive reasons, Thompson told Wednesday Business that sales have grown over 200 per cent in the last year.

Caribbean Passion products are processed at the company's Copper Wood factory in Lucea, Hanover.

Amiel said new line of ready-to-eat products was attempt by cb to capture and commercialise Jamaica's indigenous food to satisfy the growing local and tourism markets.

"The people who are coming here, were coming to the Caribbean and Jamaica not just for sea and sand, but they loved our food, drink and these products (that came) out of agriculture, yet there was no formal way of dealing or responding to this tremendous love," he said. "What you see is the beginning of a much larger dream in Caribbean Passion capturing all our distinctive tastes that make the Caribbean what it is."

john.myers@gleanerjm.com