Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

Rolf Simmonds, commercial director

Mindful that it has a new and aggressive competitor in the local snack food market, JP Tropical Foods, a division of the Jamaica Producers Group said Thursday it has revived overseas sales of its 'St Mary's' line of tropical snacks.

JP, which only about two months ago resumed its local snack operations, said it returned to the export market last week with shipments to New York and London.

Its distributors are Eve Sales Corporation in the United States and Wanis in the United Kingdom who channel JP's snacks to ethnic stores and the Jamaican and Caribbean diaspora markets.

According to JP's commercial director, Rolf Simmonds, the company is exporting straight from its Jamaican factory, with no help from the Dominican Republic operation.

"We want 20 per cent of sales to go to export markets by year-end," said Simmonds.

"At present, we are targeting the UK, and the US."

During the month of May, JP sold over three million bags of St. Mary's Banana Chips in Jamaica according to Simmonds who clarified that for now the company would only be exporting its banana chips line.

Target market

Until recently, the St Mary's brand Banana Chips launched six years ago was initially targeted exclusively to the Jamaican market.

The conglomerate's banana crops were decimated in last August's hurricane, putting both its snack business and export of the fruit in limbo.

Normally, the conglomerate exports 85 per cent of its banana crops, but seems to have given even more of the produce over to its snack operation to build out a bigger overseas market under its expanding prepared foods business segment.

"The shift to exports has not been difficult," said Simmonds.

"Our distributors tell us that Jamaicans overseas present a ready market for the leading Jamaican brands in each segment, so we have decided to start there," he said, while also acknowledging that GK Foods, a division of GraceKennedy, was a direct competitor in the overseas markets.

Great track record

He said however, it was too early to gauge market share.

"Our distributors in both markets have a strong market position and a great track record," he said.

Responding to the reliability of supply for its export operations in the event another hurricane strikes, Simmonds said the bananas were reaped on a weekly basis, and that the company had diversified production outside.

JP's snack food factory in Annotto Bay, St. Mary reopened in April, having been closed temporarily after Hurricane Dean.

The company also said it would be launching a new ad campaign and has appointed Kirk Distributors to handle distribution to local supermarkets.

Simmonds also indicated that JP was testing cassava chips in key retail outlets and would formally launch the product later this year.

susan.gordon@gleanerjm.com