Salada touting exports, innovation to boost top line

Products from the Jamaica Mountain Peak line, produced by coffee company Salada Foods Jamaica Limited, are now on the shelves of major US retailer Publix Supermarkets in Florida, specifically in the Miami and Jacksonville areas. It will give Floridians a taste of Salada’s flavoured coffees such as Coconut Cappuccino, as well as non-coffee products such as its ginger teas. General Manager Tamii Brown says the foray into the southern United States is part of a larger export drive that’s meant to improve Salada’s revenues. It is also an expansion of Salada’s North American markets, which already include the Tri-State area of the US and Canada. Brown says the company is pushing for improvements on all fronts, with a particular focus on exports. The company is also aiming to drive up sales through product innovations. In the December quarter, revenue improved by two per cent to just under $300 million. In nominal terms, the gain was less than $6 million. And Brown says the company is looking towards the Caribbean and the diaspora to move the needle. “We’re focusing on our neighbourhood, first and foremost, that is to say, our Caricom footprint. We had our first shipment to St Lucia and Antigua, and they’ve just released our first shipment to Trinidad,” she said. Salada promised shareholders last April that the company would be pushing innovation. One new product has undergone extensive testing and should be ready for launch before the annual shareholders’ meeting set for March 20. “It has the highest sensory evaluation ratings that we’ve got in a few years. We’re very excited about it,” Brown said, as she teased about the new offering. “It’s a non-coffee product which is in line with our stated goal of product diversification. It is a Jamaican product using Jamaican inputs, but it’s not coffee,” the GM said. Despite the flat top line in the December first quarter, Salada delivered 12.8 per cent more in net profits relative to the previous year. The company earned $30.88 million, up from $27.37 million.