Rainforest Caribbean Limited was an exhibitor at Seafood Expo North America, the largest exhibition on the continent.

The expo, now in its 24th staging at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, was held from March 10-12 in Massachusetts. 

Rainforest, a trailblazing seafood supplier and manufacturer with headquarters in Jamaica and operations across the region showcased Caribbean spiny-tail lobster, conch, shrimp and stone crab. The company has been an exhibitor at Seafood Expo North America since 2016 and credits the event for assisting with its export growth. 

At Seafood Expo North America, thousands of buyers and suppliers from around the world attend the annual, three-day exhibition to meet, network and do business. Attending buyers represent importers, exporters, wholesalers, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, and other retail and food service companies.

Exhibiting suppliers offer the newest seafood products, processing and packaging equipment, and services available in the seafood market. 

Benjamin Jardim, business development manager at Rainforest explained, “We were excited to head back to Boston to showcase the wide variety of seafood available from across the Caribbean. This trade show allows us the opportunity to promote our Caribbean products to buyers from around the world. We are working hard to present the Caribbean as a world-class producer of high-quality products.” 

Investments in regional expansion, food safety and quality

“We have spent the last few years laser-focused on regional expansion, vertical integration and food safety and we’re proud of the world-class seafood processing plants we have in Jamaica, Belize and St Vincent, all of which meet the highest international standards including approvals from the European Union (EU), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States and HACCP,” Jardim continued.

At our Kingston plant, we recently were awarded the Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification, a rigorous food safety and quality management system that is globally recognised.  These continuous investments into our quality and food safety standards make us even more attractive to international customers,” he said.

Export-ready products

At this year’s staging of Seafood Expo North America, Rainforest showcased spiny-tail lobster, queen conch, shrimp and stone crab. 

Both shrimp and stone crab come from the company’s Belizean operations where it owns a 1500-acre shrimp farm in southern Belize. Stone crab is a relatively new offering from Rainforest and Jardim explains that it is a product with great potential particularly because of the sustainability of the industry, “stone crab claw harvesting is an inherently sustainable fishing practice. The crab is harvested, claws removed and the animal is put back in its natural habitat.”

When it comes to lobster, Rainforest offers customers customised presentations including frozen, fresh and live lobster as well as the option to choose between whole lobster or lobster tails originating from Jamaica, Belize and St Vincent.  

Rainforest currently exports to over 30 countries including France, Germany, China, Japan and Australia, setting its sights on increasing exports as as strategic focus for the next few years.