Already having led the way for the Caribbean in the popularisation of a range of canned agro-produced foods in parts of the United States and Europe, the highly accomplished Jamaican company, Grace Kennedy (GK) is further broadening the base of its convenience-food offerings to eight states in the USA, a move which the Jamaica Gleaner says will test just how much the American palate can handle the company’s aggressively spiced jerked wings.
Having already secured a prestigious position in both traditional West Indian shops and upmarket supermarket shelves in the metropolis, GK, it would appear, is pushing North American tastes ever further, relying on both the growing Jamaican and wider Caribbean diaspora as well as their offspring as well as the ‘West Indian-ized’ Europeans and North Americans who have cultivated a taste for the ‘spiced up’ Caribbean cooking.
The distribution for the ready-to-eat foods since the start of this year – inclusive of jerked wings and patties – embraces retail outlets in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The wings are sold under the Grace brand in at least three variations – mild, spicy and honey jerk – while the patties maintain the Patty King label.