With Jamaica having firmly established itself as the most successful territory in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the areas of agro-processing and snack food production, Rainforest Caribbean Ltd., one of the jewels in its crown has just reported that it has accomplished the impressive feat of having secured markets in 15 territories with most supermarkets, hotels and restaurants in the Caribbean now carrying Rainforest products.
By its own admission the brand borrowed its name from the “lush and healthy rainforests prevalent in the South American country of Guyana” from where the company’s owner, Brian Jardim first begun to import seafood. These days, however, the company’s target markets in the Caribbean include the English, French, and Dutch Caribbean islands.
Over time the company has metamorphosed into a truly Caribbean business entity, a recent standout reflection of this being its announcement in July of a J$640 million investment in the creation of a 25,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art processing plant in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The company has now reportedly committed to purchasing EC$20 million worth of fish, conch and lobster annually from fisherfolk on those islands.
Recently, the company was talking up its frozen fruits for which, it says, it has seen a “manifold increase in demand” in the English, French and Dutch Caribbean islands. The company also boasts that “most supermarkets and hotels/restaurants across the region” carry its products.
Rainforest Caribbean’s operations across the region embrace St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Belize, and Barbados while its extra-regional markets embrace “over 30 countries across the globe.”
Rainforest has two warehouse and distribution centres in Jamai-ca – its headquarters in Montego Bay and its facility in Kingston – and recently commissioned state-of-the-art distribution centres in St Lucia and Barbados.
