Gray's products
IT IS not surprising that more than two decades after introducing the unique flavour of its pepper products customers continue to attest to the unforgettable taste of Gray's Pepper Products.
Gray's Pepper Products Limited was never a business that occurred by chance. The origin of the 30-year-old operation was one borne on a conscious commitment to quality and flavourful taste. Its company motto, "commitment to quality", was therefore not coined, but was instead an understood principle for its founder, Lloyd Gray.
Located in Savanna-la-Mar within close proximity to one of Jamaica's leading tourist resorts, Gray's Pepper Products are firmly rooted on local supermarket shelves, and are a prized commodity in homes across Jamaica, and a cherished and popular product in villas and hotels along the country's south coast.
The products, Gray's Hot Pepper Sauce, Gray's Spicy Sauce and Gray's Extra Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce are now among a range of Jamaican agri-products taking the world palette by storm or in the case of these 'fiery' products, putting the world palette on fire!
A UNIQUE BLEND
The secret in these products lies in the fact that they are all free of additives and preservatives, and are produced from specially selected local Habanero peppers, unique for their 'hot' Caribbean flavour which are blended with the natural cane sugar and salt to produce a sauce, unmatched in taste and quality in the world!
The Scotch Bonnet pepper considered the hottest pepper in the world is mixed with other local ingredients to create the unique blend of Gray's Spicy Sauce, Habanero Pepper Sauce and Hot Pepper Sauce. The products are used on an array of food items including steaks, poultry, and seafood and can also serve as a flavourful blend to gravies. However, the Habanero Pepper Sauce is created specifically for those taste buds that can withstand and appreciate an intensely hot sauce with their favourite foods.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The distinct taste of Grays Pepper Products was nurtured from very humble beginnings by a man described as a professional animal scientist of great merit and distinction: his name, Lloyd Wilberforce Gray. Born in the village of Swift River, Portland on July 26, 1918, Grey showed a keen interest in agriculture. He attended the Bloomfield Elementary School where he won the prestigious Merrick Scholarship to Farm School at Hope in St. Andrew, and trained in practical agriculture and animal husbandry, before entering the Jamaica Government Service.
Later he received more formal scientific training at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad. Lloyd was subsequently transferred to western Jamaica, supervising cattle breeding and development in a number of parishes. He later decided to make his permanent home in Westmoreland, married Dothlyn Hale and raised his three children there without ever losing touch with his Portland roots. It was in Westmoreland that he extended his love for agriculture and cultivated a thriving agri-business.
Lloyd was encouraged by his wife to commercialise his experiments in pepper, and he single-handedly spearheaded and built his highly successful spice factory, Gray's Pepper Products Ltd. The operation grew from simple backyard beginnings - grinding, processing and bottling his own name brand of Jamaica's hot pepper sauce and seasonings manually.
On his retirement from the civil service he began working on his dream factory. He sketched and designed the engines he would need for the project, and then had them built to specifications.
As the venture grew he increased the number of local staff (which now stands at 24), guided farmers in Manchester and the surrounding parishes in the scientific methods of pepper farming, and provided a steady market for their products.
Some of the original farmers still supply the factory today. While Lloyd worked assiduously to ensure the growth of the business, he was determined to maintain the distinct quality of his product, particularly with its increasing presence in the international market. His son Andrew, a graduate of the University of Toronto and himself an agriculture expert, and possessing a natural love for the business, took on the mandate of ensuring that quality was never compromised in the processing of the line of products.
Under Andrew's management the factory's laboratory is approved by the Bureau of Standards to test its own products, and operates a modern processing plant that utilises HACCP principles to ensure food safety. The Factory is fully automated and is capable of handling one million pounds of pepper per annum, making it the second largest agri-business of its kind in Jamaica. In 1982, Lloyd Gray submitted entries to the internationally famous Monde Selection Competition and was awarded the gold and silver medals for the quality of his hot pepper sauces.
Lloyd Gray was always thought to be a generous individual. Even as it related to his business, Lloyd demonstrated his philanthropic nature by sharing his scientific research, his animals and his trade secrets with individuals and groups desirous of establishing small businesses, even though they eventually became his competitors in the market place. He treated everyone with respect and consideration. His workers adored him. When it rained heavily they could be sure that "Father Gray" would turn up at their door to take them to work. For his contribution to the agri-business and his humanitarian efforts he was honoured by the Government of Jamaica with the Award of the Order of Distinction (O.D.) in 1999, but died 11 days before the award was conferred. His nine-year old grandson Drew accepted the award.
Lloyd Gray's legacy remains entrenched in the operations of Grays Pepper Products Ltd. The motto on which he built the business, commitment to quality, resonates in the company's current marketing and promotional strategies. There are now two overseas outlets from which customers can order Grays Pepper Products: Trin-Jam Distributors Inc. in Newark, New Jersey and Island Breeze Imports in Canada. These strategic locations have played a major role in the company's capacity to reach large segments of the US market. Assistant Managing Director of Gray's Pepper Products Donald Burgess contends that the company's expansion in the export market happens on an ongoing basis, "If you look at our records, we export more each year mainly through our major distributor GraceKennedy. Additionally because of our location (on the south coast) you will see our products in restaurants and hotels in tourist areas such as Negril and Montego Bay, and as a result tourists become aware of our products, and often e-mail us on their return home to find out how to access our products. So we have a lot of exposure there."
Continuing his father's desire of sharing success, among the marketing strategies adopted by Managing Director of Gray's Pepper Products Andrew Gray is a contract packaging deal to potential business interests wanting to package and sell Gray's Pepper Sauces under their own brand names. The Company also maintains a website www.grayspeppers.com which provides individuals with a range of information including the history of the company, testimonials, an overview of products, how to order Gray's products, and even recipes! Yes, you lovers of Gray's Pepper Sauces will be happy to know that there some recipes waiting to be sizzled with one or more of the hottest pepper sauces around! Consumers will also be happy to know that there are future plans to extend the range of Gray's Pepper products as indicated by Donald Burgess who emphasises that the Company's primary focus at this time is to develop the existing brands, "Yes there are plans to extend the product range, but there is no time line on this. It will happen over time. " Also with respect to cultivation of peppers, Mr. Burgess states that this is something that the Company has considered, however the focus is now centred on processing.
Organisations like the Jamaica Exporters Association are looking for innovative ways of extending the export potential for Jamaican businesses, particularly those that show consistency in producing quality, the ultimate hallmark for local products and services. Hot Pepper is an indigenous crop within the Caribbean, and the region holds the distinct advantage of branding and marketing pepper products that reflect a regional flavour as it seeks to extend its competitive position in the world market.
