Barbados sugar hits Walmart shelves

(CMR) A Barbados brand of sugar has made history by being the first-ever locally produced product to be available on the shelves of US retail giant, Walmart.

According to Barbados Today, Gerard Borely, Chairman of Caribbean Sugar Ltd (CSL), a member of the Hadco Group of Companies, announced that the company has secured US exports of its Barbados Reserve premium brand of traditional Barbados sugar to Walmart, the world’s largest US retailer with sales of $572bn across 10,500 stores.

“This is the first Barbadian brand to be sold in Walmart stores – a landmark for the sugar industry and the island.  It’s something that the whole industry can be proud of,” he remarked.

Borely noted that CSL’s export success to Walmart, in addition to other large US customers in Florida, was built on its local presence in Barbados.

“One of the key selling points for the buyer at Walmart was the fact our brand was so well recognized locally. This was key to their sales strategy to attract the diaspora in Florida and visitors to Barbados who’ve returned home,” he said.

CSL has reportedly invested heavily in a new facility in Barbados which will manufacture added value products including icing sugar, and enable the company to meet the demand and quality needs of both local and export markets, Phillip Lewis, non-Executive Director, said

Mr. Lewis said the facility, which is set to launch in January 2023, will be certified to ISO22000, SQF, and BRC standards and will allow the company to package products for direct export to the US and other markets instead of shipping in bulk to be further packaged overseas.

“Until now all icing sugar was imported into Barbados. This facility will have the production capacity to manufacture 100% of Barbados’ demand for icing sugar, with a surplus to be exported,”  Lewis commented.

Borely indicated that the new facility reflects the company’s confidence in the Barbados economy and the local manufacturing sector.  He added that CSL would continue to look for opportunities to invest in Barbados.