It requires a considerable measure of courage and a carefully prepared marketing strategy to make a multi-million dollar investment in one of the most competitive sectors in the Guyana economy.
This newspaper’s own unofficial estimate of around 35 bakeries providing service to customers in parts of coastal Guyana takes no account of a handful of establishments which, these days, confine themselves to a baking loaves as per order.
Located at Block GI Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, Doolie’s Bakery has chosen to meet the competition head on across the broad spectrum of the bakery sector. It is banking on its skills in the production of breads, including assorted rolls, and an array of cakes and pastries to make its way in a market that already appears overcrowded.
The establishment is, it seems, in the business for the long haul. It has a staff of twenty, most of whom were recruited from the community.
Vinetta Singh, the establishment’s amiable General Manager vouches for the expertise of her team that includes experienced mixers, bakers, quality control supervisors, table hands, pastry makers and delivery/marketing person-nel. She says that their youth and enthusiasm are just what is needed to take the new establishment to the top of the pile.
The newly constructed bakery is equipped with a range of modern equipment and machinery including two US-made state-of-the-art ovens. The principal partner in the business is Guyanese-born Yazid Chintamani who resides in the US. The owner, the establishment’s General Manager says, “knows his stuff.” He has a knowledge of the industry and is an accomplished businessman.
For Singh, much of the task of managing is about finding a niche for Doolie’s products in a crowded and complex market. She has, she says, opted for the approach of getting the products into small, densely populated communities through their local outlets. “In some cases, we are quite prepared to go for leaving a few loaves with the community outlets to start with,” she says. She has, however, already begun to undertake the larger project, the placing of Doolie’s products in the major supermarkets and other outlets where they will be expected to hold their own against stern competition and in the face of well-established tastes. While the availability of the company’s bar code now means that its marketing can target the major coastal outlets, Doolie’s products are already available at Mattai’s and Ashmin’s supermarkets.
Freshly baked products are distributed daily in areas across Demerara from as far as Tuschen on the West Bank, Timehri on the East Bank, Mahaica on the East Coast and in central Georgetown. Mindful, perhaps, of the lesser intensity of the communities furthest away from the capital, Doolie’s has decided to focus on its marketing.
Singh also makes the point about the company’s contribution to the community through purchases of commodities like coconuts and pineapples from local farmers. It may be a modest contribution, but it is part of Doolie’s way of expressing its thanks to the community from which it seeks to start its journey.