Growth & Jobs | ‘Christmas in July’ exposing small businesses

TIMES ARE hard, and so some people have more than one stream of income. This has given rise to a wide variety of cottage industries in Jamaica. For some, their small business is the only source of income. And there are those who are even using their home as ‘factories’, providing jobs for family and non-family members.

But after all is said and done, there have to be markets in which products are disposed of. Yet marketing and exposure can sometimes be the biggest challenges in an effort to earn an income. The lack of promotional opportunities and a solid and consistent market might just be the root cause of the failure of some of these businesses.

Thus, the trade show, Christmas in July, for the past few years has been providing marketing and networking exposure for some Jamaican small businesses for free. And on Wednesday, July 12, and Thursday, July 13, this year’s iteration was held at the AC Hotel Kingston, on Lady Musgrave Road, in St Andrew. One hundred and seventy-five artisans, manufacturers, and suppliers exhibited a wide array of locally produced items. The Gleaner was present to capture what these businesses are doing.

A Taste of the Caribbean manufacturers, markets, sells, and distributes a “diverse portfolio of top-quality shelf-stable specialty food products”. They cater to and serve retail and food services to businesses in the US, the UK, Canada, and the Caribbean. The company’s premier brand is Dunson’s, “which symbolises what the company stands for” – trust, integrity, value, quality and service. “The brand represents good, wholesome delicious foods for the entire family,” A Taste of the Caribbean said.

Located in St Thomas and Kingston, they offer a range of products that cater to a multicultural and diverse audience. They include instant-cooking sauces, hot sauces, pickles, wet seasonings, dry herbs and spice seasoning blends, dips, ketchups, condiments and fruit-based spreads, bastings and glazes, salad and vinaigrette dressings, marinades, multipurpose food and pancake syrups with tropical flavours, and exotic Caribbean confectionaries and snacks.

Still on the matter of food, Chocollor Chocolate, a family-owned manufacturer of “fine-flavoured bean-to-bar chocolate” in Kingston, was back again this year. Its line includes milk chocolate, chocomunch milk chocolates, 60 per cent dark chocolate, 70 per cent dark chocolates, white chocolate, sorrel-infused white chocolate, 70 per cent dark chocolate with fruit cake pieces, chocolate liqueur, and ‘Goodness Graze’, the 70 per cent dark chocolate with monk fruit. The company says Goodness Graze is “possibly the Caribbean’s first and only one-of-a kind 70 per cent premium bean-to-bar chocolate”.

“Made from ethically sourced Jamaican cocoa beans and sweetened with monk fruit, this unique chocolate bar is nature’s perfect guilt-free indulgence. Monk fruit is a small, round fruit from southern China and is a healthier alternative to added sugar. Monk fruit sugar is derived naturally and has been recognised for its health benefits in traditional Chinese medicine for a long time. it may have positive effects on digestion and overall health,” the company says further.

From the stomach to the body we go with Jadire fabric, and more specifically, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Batik Group. The members were trained at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) to dye fabric in a traditional Nigerian way. The word Jadire is an African-Jamaican fusion of Jamaica and adire, which is the Nigerian equivalent of tie-and-dye. Batik printing was once a vibrant industry in Jamaica but has been waning over the years. What is happening at the JBDC is inspiring a resurgence.

“On a mission to make this tie-and-die batik production a national cloth for Jamaica just like other symbols represent the island, the JBDC has trained 100 local producers since 2018. The motifs used in this hand-painted fabric represent significant aspects of Jamaican culture such as ackee and breadfruit leaves,” the JBDC says. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church group was displaying at Christmas in July for the first time this year.

The event was a collaborative project of the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the JBDC, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, JAMPRO, and the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association.