Have secured markets in 15 territories already

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica-based regional seafood processor Rainforest Caribbean Limited has emerged as a dominant force in the region, winning several regional markets and expanding its presence extra-regionally as well.

The company has disclosed recently that it has secured markets in 15 territories with most supermarkets, hotels and restaurants in the Caribbean now carrying the Rainforest brands. This is regarded as an impressive feat for such a relatively new company, which was started in 1995 by Brian Jardim.

Its dominance across the region has seen Rainforest operations embracing St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Belize, Barbados and Guyana, where the brand borrowed its name from the “lush and healthy rainforests” prevalent in the South American/Caribbean country.

Maintain regional dominance

Rainforest has hinted that, for now and the foreseeable future, it plans to double down and concentrate on growing its presence in those markets in which it now has a presence to maintain its dominance.

In addition, the brand will be making the investments that are necessary to maintain the status quo before looking at other markets.

Rainforest now exports to more than 30 countries worldwide and is focusing on increasing its offerings to the North American and United Kingdom markets, where there is a strong Jamaican Diaspora. The company processes over 400 varieties of seafood and is expanding further outside of seafoods into doing more agro-processing.

To this extent, Rainforest has purchased an 80-acre farm in Trelawny to help in that regard with a focus on cassava, diversifying into bammy production, which is a staple with fish as a full meal. In July, the company announced a J$640-million investment in the creation of a 25,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art processing plant in St Vincent and the Grenadines and has committed to purchasing EC$20 million worth of fish, conch and lobster annually from fisher folk on those islands.

More diversification efforts

Rainforest has been talking up its frozen fruits business, which seen a manifold increase in demand in the English, French and Dutch Caribbean islands, boasting that most supermarkets and hotels/restaurants across the region carry its products. Rainforest has two warehouse and distribution centres in Jamaica – its headquarters in Montego Bay and its facility in Kingston and recently commissioned state-of-the-art distribution centres in St Lucia and Barbados.

Rainforest’s diversification efforts during the pandemic has produced a more resilient and robust organisation. The company says its export and offshore revenues increased 40 per cent in 2021 versus pre-pandemic 2019 and are on track to increase over 90 per cent in 2022 versus 2019.

The company is pivoting to buy more local produce.

“We are buying a lot of local beef, pork and chicken and we will be buying a lot more local produce,” said Roger Lyn, director of marketing and corporate affairs at Rainforest Seafoods.

The company plans to build a butchery and will be going after more business in the resorts sector of the island, especially with the building of new hotel properties on the island’s north coast.

It has been said that Rainforest is looking at getting into the market for exporting ackee and callaloo.