Durrant Pate/Contributor

Grace Kennedy (GK) is reporting that it has now completed the sale of the remaining 50% equity in local cheese and dairy products manufacturer, Dairy Industries (Jamaica), from its joint venture partner, Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited.

As a result, Dairy Industries is now 100% owned by the Jamaican food manufacturing and distribution conglomerate. Completion of the sale was announced on Thursday by GK in a regulatory post on the Jamaica Stock Exchange website. For over four decades, GK and Fonterra have been managing partners, with their partnership being formally governed by a joint venture agreement since 1996, but last month GK announced that it had agreed to acquire Fonterra Co-operative shareholding, thereby giving GK 100% ownership of the company, having previously owned the other 50% equity.

While GK has assumed full ownership, its relationship with Fonterra will continue on a commercial basis, given that the partnership has delivered significant value over many years, and now GK is looking forward to continuing to work with Fonterra in areas of mutual commercial interest. Dairy Industries has a long and distinguished history in Jamaica’s manufacturing sector. 

The company began manufacturing operations in 1964 and began cheese processing in February 1968. Today, Dairy Industries is the only manufacturing entity in Jamaica and the Caribbean that produces processed cheese in a can—Tastee Cheese, its flagship brand. 

The company produces a wide range of dairy products for the local and regional markets, including processed cheese in cans and vacuum packs, and cheese spreads under the Tastee brand, yoghurt under the This Is Really Great brand, and powdered milk under the Anchor brand.

In 1995, Dairy Industries became the first company in the Caribbean to be certified to the ISO 9001 standard. In 2007, it received Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification from the Guelph Food Technology Centre in recognition of its food safety programme. 

Most recently, Dairy Industries was certified to FSSC 22000:2017, reflecting its continued adherence to globally recognised food safety standards. Its manufacturing facility is located on Washington Boulevard, Kingston 20.