Pepsi Jamaica going after more market share with new production line

With the commissioning of a new production line in which it invested US$30 million, Pepsi-Cola Jamaica Bottling Company Limited says it is gunning for more market share in Jamaica and export markets.

The company officially opened the new production line on Tuesday, doubling the plant’s production capacity. General Manager Alberto Ramirez said the investment will enable the company to act as a regional hub, so that brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade and Ocean Spray can be marketed to a wider regional market.

“Together, we aim to take the rich Jamaican Flava to the world. This marks just the beginning of our collective efforts to invest in Jamaica and its people,” Ramirez said ahead of the launch of the new production line.

Pepsi-Cola Jamaica already exports to nine Caribbean countries, as well as the United Kingdom, United States, Belize and Canada, Ramirez said.

Indications are that the new line will boost production by at least 60 per cent in the first instance. Commercial Manager Luz del Alba Tejada told the Financial Gleaner that the beverage company would be producing 600,000 cases per month. The drinks company has also boosted its workforce by 25 per cent to manage the new operation, she said.

Jamaica is experiencing record low unemployment.

“These jobs are not just statistics. They represent lives and livelihoods. They represent dreams and aspirations fulfilled. They represent economic independence. They represent social mobility. They represent human capital and skills,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the commissioning function on Tuesday.

Manufacturing is the largest industry in the goods-producing sector and the sixth-largest industry overall, accounting for nine per cent of the total goods and services produced in the economy, the PM said. He noted that the manufacturing sector grew by 6.3 per cent in 2022 and contributed 0.6 per cent of the 5.2 per cent GDP growth recorded that year.

business@gleanerjm.com