Sweetie to start own manufacturing by June
CONFECTIONERY PRODUCER Patria Kaye Aarons hopes to be doing her own manufacturing by June 2017 as she seeks to turn a misfortune into an opportunity at a time when her business was growing exponentially.
“Call it sweet misfortune, but our contract manufacturer kept having reliability issues with their machines that are decades old,” said Aarons, noting that “this kept impacting production. At the same time, our demand kept growing so that even more so the (contract) machines just could not keep up.”
The Sweetie Confectionery chief executive said that after over two years of partnering with a contract manufacturer, her company found itself at a crossroads that could lead to growth or stagnation.
“We got to a point where we had to make a decision on whether we continue with this decades-old machine or recognise that this was a real venture with good potential and make the investment,” Aarons said.
The investment will come in the form of a new production facility that includes a new machine and a 4,000-square foot factory. In addition, Aarons is expanding her product line.
“We’ve bought a new machine from China, we’re investing in new packaging and new products to the extent that every hard candy that we used to make, we will put a stick in it to make a lollipop,” she told Gleaner Business.
Aarons expects the new machine to be up and running by mid-June. “Someone will be coming from China to do the installation within a week of the arrival,” she said, adding that “they will then train staff and we should be up and running in short order.”
Aarons was not prepared to go on record about the exact location of the manufacturing facility, but she has indicated that the new factory will be employing about 12 persons from a location in the general area of May Pen, Clarendon. The factory space was acquired with the help of a government agency which she declined to identify. With the new facility, her company will be able to produce in one month what they usually produce in two years, she said.