Jamaican Products – Is enough being done to highlight them?

At the recently concluded Jamaican expo held at the National Arena, I was pleasantly surprised at the innovative products that Jamaican companies were able to provide to consumers.

I especially liked the infusion of traditional products with a Jamaican flavour such as mango and tamarind jam as well as jewelry made from natural materials.

It made me consider the limitless potential of Jamaican products in the international marketplace. True there has been much improvement in the marketing and distribution of Jamaican products but there is still much room for improvement.

In fact on a trip to Florida, I visited a stall at a fair where a woman was selling, ‘Jamaican Flava’ perfume that was made in China! The truth is everyone likes to use our name to sell their products so genuine suppliers must ensure that they protect our brand.

There are vast untapped markets that Jamaican products can benefit from accessing if they can find the right buyer.

Products such as  jams, jellies perfumes and powders made from our local flowers  should be given attention.

Recently there has been more focus on the environment so I do think that must be taken into consideration as it would be important to preserve our natural environs even while we make financial growth.

There are currently a lot of competitions in which schools are challenged to find new uses for our natural resources.  These bright and inquiring minds come up with creative uses and showcase them to various organisations and win cash prizes.

Are any of their projects used?

Their projects should be used to benefit the country. These same young people who are a part of these competitions should be targeted after they leave school so as to provide a well needed injection to the development of new products for export.

So what do you think? Is enough being done to highlight Jamaican products?

Drop me a line below!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner online Writer

Tags: Jamaican products