Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GraceKennedy Don Wehby says that a deal with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc could pull the company alongside leading producers of frozen patties in the United States.
Wehby, who is also a government senator, said that the agreement will give the local company access to some 240 Walmart stores in Atlanta, Florida and New Jersey.
“The strategy of this acquisition is very, very clear and is simple to articulate, when you look at the Hispanic market in the US which is a US$5 billion market, and the Caribbean market which is like US$200 million to US$300 million,” he told last week’s annual general meeting of the the GraceKennedy Group in Kingston.
He noted that the market was already being led by the Goya brand, with other brands like Iberia running second which is where GraceKennedy expects the local brand to reach when the marketing and distribution gets into full stride.
The move follows a Business Observer story in April that GraceKennedy was already selling patties to in South Florida via supermarket chains, including Winn-dixie, Broward Meat and Fish, Bravo and Presidente supermarkets.
GraceKennedy bought La Fe Foods Inc, through its wholly owned subsidiary, GraceKennedy Foods (USA) LLC GraceKennedy (GK) in July 2014, making it one of the Caribbean’s largest and most dynamic corporate entities in the USA.
“Our focus is that, with the Grace brand and La Fe, we want to break out into a clear number two in the United States, and I can assure you as owners of this company, it is going to be a game -changer. I can assure you of that, because you are talking about significant additions to our revenues,” Senator Wehby told the meeting.
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