Honey Bun Limited opened its newest outlet in Morant Bay, St Thomas, to much fanfare on May 25, bringing the total number of outlets across the island to nine.

This follows the opening of its last outlet on East Street in Old Harbour, St Catherine in October 2022, which was the fifth branch opened in just two years for the wholesale baking company which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

The company opened all five of its new outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with one at their Retirement Crescent, Kingston headquarters in 2020. According to deputy CEO Daniel Chong, the move was in keeping with the business’ commitment to “meet our customers’ demands. They needed our products readily available.”

Following the opening of the Retirement Crescent location in 2020, the business added two more – one at Market Road in Papine, St Andrew, and another at Pineapple Place in Ocho Rios, St Ann in 2021.  

For the thrust during the pandemic, Chong noted, “We didn’t see sales going down during the pandemic. The demand was there and so we strategically targeted regions that didn’t have great market saturation, as the outlets give us greater market presence in rural areas.”

These new outlets add to ones already in Crossroads, Half-Way Tree, East Street and Princess Street in Kingston and St Andrew.

The move in increased outlets have been seeing positive return for the company. With an investment of approximately J$6 million, for all the outlets in the last financial year, outlet sales increased by 33 per cent, contributing 10 per cent to Honey Bun’s overall revenue for 2022.

Chong added: “Our growth centred on our commitment to quality, as we strive for improvement. With a great team behind us, we don’t feel comfortable staying the same.”

The company recently attained safe quality food (SQF) certification in both food safety and quality. The certification assures consumers that Honey Bun products are manufactured under highest food safety and quality standards.

Chang noted that the business will continue on the path of expansion going forward, with more product lines and fleet expansion. He noted that there are more new outlets in pipeline. Coming on stream will be outlets in Montego Bay, St James, Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Linstead, St Catherine, and Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth.