KINGSTON: The Seprod Group reduced the price of its Cool Fruit brand of packaged drinks by almost 35 per cent, from J$30 to J$20.
According to Seprod, this price cut is in a bid to mitigate the rising cost of living facing Jamaicans and to reduce the quantity of imported beverages in the island.
Within the context of recent media reports suggesting that Jamaica imports annually J$3.7 billion worth of packaged drinks from one regional company, Seprod CEO, Richard Pandohie, said in a release Sunday that this move is a strategic push to increase market share, expand the local manufacturing base, take back Jamaican jobs, and generally help grow the Jamaican economy.
Seprod recently invested J$360 million in an upgraded packaging machine at Serge Island Dairy Limited where it produces various lines of beverages, including Cool Fruit and Swizzle.
Pandohie says, “…This investment resulted in increased production efficiencies allowing us to pass on the cost savings to our consumers, what better way to begin celebrating our 75th anniversary.”
The investment is the first in a planned J$5 billion outlay over two years to upgrade, retool and improve the efficiencies within the Seprod Group of Companies, with a view to increasing competitiveness, the release said.
The Seprod Group celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.
