Tortuga eyes airports for visibility of tiny rum cakes

TORTUGA HOLDINGS Limited is positioning its rum cakes at airports in both North America and the Caribbean, to deepen its penetration of the travel market, according to marketing manager Natalia Garcia.

The company has chosen the travel segment to push its newest offering — cakes in tiny bites of 53 calories.

Tortuga, which makes speciality foods and rums across the Caribbean, manufactures its products in Barbados, Jamaica and

Cayman Islands, with a distribution hub in South Florida. Its cakes, which ranges in sizes as well as calorie counts that rise as high as 3,360 kcal. The newest offering comes in a tapered box that holds 10 pieces — each at 53 calories and weighing 0.5 ounces. The product aims to capture business from health-conscious consumers, who tend to count their calorie intake.

“We have an active focus on innovation and a desire to stay current on consumer trends. We saw a tremendous opportunity to leverage our product into the individual consumption space,” said Garcia. The airports are being tapped as “high visibility points” to drive sales, the marketing manager added.

Garcia said the rum cake bites were the only product in Tortugas’ innovation pipeline for 2018. Prior to their debut, the company’s 4-ounce cake had the lowest calorie count of 390 kcal.

Tortuga Holdings is majority owned by Jamaica Producers Group Limited. The Tortuga brand has been around since 1984.