GK adds plastic, but sticking with Tropical Rhythms glass bottles
Published:Thursday | October 4, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Food and financial services conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited says it has no plan to replace the glass range of its Tropical Rhythms juice drink, noting that the addition of plastic packaging was introduced to address a need to reach consumers in channels where glass bottles are not allowed.
Group CEO Don Wehby has identified venues hosting sporting events as well as school activities among those channels.
Asked whether the decision was informed by a move towards cost saving, Wehby, in e-mailed responses to Financial Gleaner queries said "the decision to add the PET bottle was made based on the need to penetrate new channels. In fact, there are no cost savings as a very high quality plastic had to be used to protect the integrity of the juice blend."
He said both the glass and polyethylene terephthalate or PET plastic containers used for bottling the product are purchased from overseas suppliers and that there are no cost savings associated with the production of the plastic containers.
As to how the government's ban on single use plastic would impact GraceKennedy's decision to use plastic containers for the product, Wehby said: "We had anticipated that glass would be the significantly larger share of the business and since the introduction of PET is not a replacement for glass, sales overtime will be limited to on premises consumption at sporting events and channels where glass may not be allowed."
In September, the government announced that Jamaica will be introducing a ban on single use plastic bags, plastic bottles in which water and beverages are sold, plastic straws and styrofoam in a bid to reduce the impact plastic is having on the environment.
Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Daryl Vaz said the ban will take effect on January 1, 2019 and will be part of an inter-national effort to reduce pollution.
The ban extends to the import, manufacture and distri-bution of plastic bags smaller than 24x24 inches and includes black 'scandal bags', common in Jamaica and apparently named because the colour prevents others from seeing the contents within.
However, the ban will not apply to those single-use plastic bags "utilised to maintain public health or food safety standards" such as those used to package raw meat, flour, rice, sugar and baked goods such as bread.
Polyethylene, known as styrofoam, will also be prohibited but local manufacturers and importers will be able to apply to the National Environment and Planning Agency for limited exemptions until January 2021.
Although the ban on plastic drinking straws will take effect early next year, the deadline to remove those tubes attached to juice boxes and drink pouches will also be extended until January 2021.
The GraceKennedy CEO, responding to whether any other of the company's product will be affected by the government's ban on single use plastic, said "we are reviewing our portfolio and the necessary changes will be made to meet the changing needs of our consumers and any new regulatory positions."
He added that "GraceKennedy Limited has always been guided by our corporate social responsibility to the natural environment and we are prepared to work along with regulators to ensure adequate preservation of our biodiversity."
He said that "through the GK Foundation, we continue to execute environmentally sustainable initiatives such as the plastic bottle collection programme at our subsidiaries, 10 schools in Kingston and at select Hi-Lo supermarkets", the latter a division of GK Foods & Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GraceKennedy Limited.
In addition, he said the company was "exploring solutions to solve the pollution problem in the Kingston Harbour through partnerships with the private sector and government agencies."
With the impending ban on single-use plastic bags, Wehby said in store promotions at supermarket chain were under way to switch to reusable shopping bags on sale at Hi-Lo.
"Overall, there is minimal negative impact to GraceKennedy Group's profitability as a result of the ban and in fact some subsidiaries will see cost savings in their operations," he asserted.