Kudos to GraceKennedy for its impressive vision

Friday, February 10, 2012

GraceKennedy's intention to become a global consumer group by the year 2020 is the kind of vision and big thinking that needs to be spread across Jamaica.

For it speaks to an acknowledgement of our capacity to achieve at the highest level and a refusal to accept the belief by some that we are inferior, or mediocre, because of our economic difficulties and designation as a Third World nation.

Becoming a global consumer group within the next eight years will see GraceKennedy earning half of its profit from outside Jamaica, we are told by Mr Don Wehby, the GraceKennedy Group CEO.

According to Mr Wehby and his team, the plan is for the Jamaican conglomerate to have its renowned Grace brand sold on three continents as it forms strategic alliances with international partners.

"Our focus going forward with the global consumer group is to expand food outside of the region and financial services within the region," Mr Wehby said at this week's Observer Monday Exchange.

His company's commitment to investing in manufacturing in Jamaica is most encouraging and speaks to GraceKennedy's confidence in local processors to deliver quality consistently. In fact, as Mr Wehby quite correctly pointed out, his company will have a problem if it is unable to provide quality goods, because entry into more developed markets requires adherence to rigid standards.

However, we don't expect that GraceKennedy will have a difficulty meeting those standards. After all, it has been raising the bar on quality for the past 90 years, so much so that Grace has become a household name in Jamaica and a highly respected brand in the overseas markets where its foods are now available.

The GraceKennedy experience, we believe, provides an excellent springboard for our efforts to promote 'Brand Jamaica', and the company's plan to provide meals for the Jamaican team while at this summer's London Olympic Games at the team camp in Birmingham offers the kind of marketing and promotional opportunities from which the 'Brand Jamaica' campaign can benefit.

It is our hope, therefore, that those charged with the responsibility to push this campaign will engage GraceKennedy, and, of course, the other Jamaican companies that are producing quality goods.

Realistically, we should be treating events like the Olympic Games as huge business opportunities, especially given Jamaica's current prowess in track and field.

In the same way that our athletes are in demand on the world stage, so too should more of our our goods and services.

GraceKennedy has already made a big step in that direction and plans to leap even further over the next eight years. Our Government should not feel shy to adopt the template of a company that has proven that it knows how to be successful.

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Kudos to GraceKennedy for its impressive vision