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Caribbean Export Development Agency |
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EDUCATING
THE MANUFACTURER
The Caribbean Export Development Agency exists for the purpose of increasing exports out of the Caribbean, and they encourage manufacturers to go mainstream if at all possible. "The optimum goal is to increase sales," says Marsh. "When volumes are low, the per unit costs go up." In the food and beverage industry, CEDA targets markets mainly in the U.S. and the U.K., and assists Caribbean manufacturers in various ways. One is by supporting the costs of going to trade fairs--for instance, they might pay for airfares and shipping while the manufacturer pays only a small exhibiting cost. Because they believe that manufacturers are much more likely to succeed if they have the right information, CEDA also provides resources such as market research, product feedback and training seminars. An
example of a vehicle of publicity was "A Taste of the Caribbean,"
an in-store promotion at six Tops Friendly Markets in the Buffalo, Rochester
and Ithaca areas of New York from September 22 through October 5, 1996. The
Caribbean Export Development Agency, a main client of International Trade
Promotion, Inc., sponsored and arranged for various Caribbean products to be
showcased in these supermarkets and also brought in Caribbean chefs to
conduct cooking classes. "It
is important to introduce the products in a user-friendly manner," says
Allan Marsh, marketing officer at the Caribbean Export Development Agency's
main office in Barbados. "We want to show people how these condiments
and sauces can complement the foods they are familiar with by creating
dishes like 'Rasta Pasta,' or by simply giving them ways to liven up a
hamburger. After the classes, it was great to see people going straight to
the shelves to get these products." Market
readiness
The
seminars that CEDA conducts are for people thinking about starting a
business, as well as those trying to expand an existing business. "It's
difficult to predict the size of the market--it's a maze, a jungle,"
says Marsh. "We want to try and educate people before they go in."
Topics
include: --Market
awareness and orientation --How
to use the trade media --Packaging
and labeling, including design, legal issues and copyright laws --Ethnic
marketing --Food
technology--how to make the same thing over and over. CEDA
also provides product and packaging feedback in terms of refining a recipe
to suit mainstream tastes and designing a label that will first attract
buyers and distributors, then customers. Group
marketing approach
"We
have always gone as a group, not as individual countries or companies,"
says Marsh. "The costs to a group are lower." When products are
sold and promoted together, limited promotional dollars are split more ways,
such as in "A Taste of the Caribbean." These programs are
beneficial to manufacturers, because all they have to do is provide product,
and CEDA arranges the rest. Marsh says that almost every company represented
at "A Taste of the Caribbean"sold some product, with some
manufacturers selling nearly 50 percent of their stock in one week. Not only
does this kind of publicity create demand for products and increase the
potential of their success, he says, but it also proves to the stores that
these products can move off the shelves. Another
benefit to group marketing has to do with slotting fees, or paying for space
on the grocery store shelves. These fees are determined by the volume a
grocery store sells, and can range anywhere from a case of product to $3,000
per product per store. Sometimes CEDA can arrange to split these fees
between several manufacturers, or they will help negotiate a reduced fee
package. CEDA, however, will not provide slotting fees--manufacturers must
pay these themselves. Remember though, that if a product does not sell well
during the first six months or so, the store will remove it and keep the
slotting fee. TURNING
AMBITION TO FRUITION
One
of the companies that has succeeded with CEDA assistance is Native
Treasures, run by Anne-Marie Whittaker of St. Michael, Barbados. She has
been manufacturing her Tropical Inferno sauce, Tamangy Chutney and Bassa
Bassa Sauce for almost two years, and has been in the mainstream market for
about one year. Right
now, her products are carried in Ralph's in Los Angeles, Vaughn's Pavilions
on the West Coast, Waldbaum's in New York, and Food Emporium in New York and
on the East Coast. They are scheduled to appear in more stores in 1997. "You've
got to have a product the stores see as viable--it can't just be another
pepper sauce," says Whittaker. Her recipes, she says, are not
traditional blends, but rather a combination of old and new, that captures
the romance and exotic feel of the tropics with native fruits and spices
that are blended with just the right amount of peppers. "You grow up
doing certain things the way the old folks do them," she says. "I
took the old and put my creativity into it to make something new." She
believes that in addition to a good recipe, appealing packaging and tireless
promotion, a beginning mainstream manufacturer needs to have faith and
persistence--sometimes even five years' worth before seeing a profit. After
two years Whittaker is not yet running at a profit, but she is confident
that her investments will pay off. She says she fights discouragement by
focusing on finding ways to make things go right, not dwelling on problems
and pitfalls. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel," she
says. "This is the first product from Barbados to make it to the
supermarket shelves, and regardless of what it takes, we want to go
on." Part
of what it takes is the ability to produce in large volume to supply the
larger demands of supermarkets. Mark Fields, vice president of marketing at
Tastes of the Caribbean, the largest importer of Caribbean food products in
the United States and importer of Native Treasures, says that manufacturers
in the mainstream market must be able to provide their product in volume and
deliver it in a timely manner--usually within ten days to two weeks. In the
next few months, Whittaker plans to expand her operation enough to produce
two twenty-foot containers a month, enough to fill an entire tractor
trailer. While this might seem intimidating, she says it will take only five
or six people working an eight-hour daily shift, and adding only a couple of
kettles, a filling machine, a capper and some troughs for washing. She
credits the CEDA seminars with helping her learn to better utilize what she
already has. Fields,
who first approached Whittaker about putting her products in the mainstream
market estimates that Native Treasures will do a minimum of $500,000 in
sales, both foreign and domestic, over the next year. Even
as manufacturers work harder to bring their products to the consumer,
consumers want to work less to find them. Convenience is the name of the
game these days, and people want to save time with one-stop shopping without
sacrificing variety. In response, supermarkets are offering more specialty
items to attract interest and gain loyalty. Due to increased exposure in
these sections and another convenience--restaurants--Americans are now
recognizing more Caribbean products than ever before. "Due
to education--of both consumers and buyers--people are demanding more
Caribbean products," says Mark Fields, vice president of marketing at
Tastes of the Caribbean, the largest importer of Caribbean food products in
the United States. "The products were available before, but no one
cared." Someone cares now, as Fields points out that he has seen a $3-5 million increase nationwide in the sales of Caribbean food products over the last three years. Right now, the stage is set, the demand is growing, and the door to the mainstream market is open wide. "I think Caribbean products are following on the tracks of other products like Mexican, Italian, and Thai," says Ashley. "In the near future, we will see Caribbean products take their place."
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