Grace to expand patty line in the United States

THE GRACEKENNEDY Group is planning to expand its line of patties within the United States during this financial year, even as it tests the product’s entry into the wider Caribbean, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The group initially started selling frozen patties in March 2016, having introduced it in the Southeast United States on a test basis with three flavours – spicy beef, mild beef and curry chicken.

Already in more than 100 locations across South Florida, GraceKennedy plans to widen its distribution of the product.

GraceKennedy Chief Executive Officer Don Wehby told Gleaner Business that the Group recently expanded the distribution of the popular Jamaican meal in Northeast United States and the West Coast on a limited basis.

He said consumer response has been “very positive” for the product, which retails at US$2.99 to US$3.49 per box of two patties. The product is manufactured in the United States by a co-packer of Jamaican heritage, Wehby explained.

GraceKennedy distributes its branded products in 60 countries across the globe and believes that patties can find a home within its distribution network.

“We have also sold some test quantities into Trinidad. Plans are to enter the Canadian and UK markets in coming years after establishing a solid presence in the USA. Our focus in the short term is to build a solid foundation in the Southeast USA before expanding outwards,” stated Wehby, who gave no details on capital investment for the product but said that it was significant.

INCREASED INVESTMENTS

He, however, stated that Grace was investing extensively above the margins of the product and has increased its investment significantly in 2017 over 2016, based on the potential of the product.

GraceKennedy Limited grew its annual earnings by 39 per cent to $4.5 billion at its December 2016 year end. That equated to earnings per share of $4.03, up from $2.78 a year earlier.

The group benefited from a 10.7 per cent rise in revenues during the financial year to $88 billion, while keeping expenses stable. The conglomerate is organised into two divisions, namely GK Foods and GK Financial Group, but reports four operating segments.

The food trading segment earned $1.33 billion in profit before tax on $68.8 billion in revenues, the banking and investments segment earned $378 million on revenues of $5.58 billion, insurance earned $789.2 million on revenues of $6.03 billion, and the money services arm earned $3.07 billion on revenues of $7.8 billion for year ending December 2016.