Growth & Jobs | Things Jamaican pushes 30 new brands this Christmas

AS THE conversation around Brand Jamaica intensifies, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), through its retail arm Things Jamaican, is pushing 30 new Jamaican brands to market through the ‘Deck Di Yaad with New Yaad Brands’ Christmas campaign.

“We recognised that we needed to build out clients that had brands. And a lot of back-end work would have been done in the form of product development, packaging, labelling, branding. We wanted to make sure that our clients were using best-practice marketing strategies to enter markets and to grow in markets,” says Janine Fletcher-Taylor, manager of the Marketing Services Unit at the JBDC.

As a result, this campaign will strategically position these new brands to reach a wider audience. With a focus on quality, innovation, and cultural relevance, the brands selected for this campaign spread across three categories – food, fashion accessories and home décor.

“With the ‘Deck Di Yaad’ theme, we chose categories that align with what Jamaican consumers are already engaged in during the holiday season – family gatherings, food preparation, home décor, and fashion. These new brands fit into those activities, offering authentic Jamaican products for consumers to enjoy during this special time of year,” Fletcher-Taylor continued.

The 30 brands featured in this holiday campaign include Bean Rho, Well Bazz Jewelry, Iama Mamby Entertainment, Rock By Nana, Lonies, Youthful Bloom, Desilva Hall Designs, Junlyn Artz, Science2ArtGG, Creole, and Melissa Moses Designs, among others.

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“We’ve been working with these brands for the past 12 to 16 months, and this campaign serves as their official market launch. While they have been available in our stores, we are using the holiday season to introduce them as prime consumer options. This isn’t just about supporting local businesses; it’s about presenting exceptional products that can compete globally.”

The brands selected reflect the following: embody innovation; are unique and aligned to market trends; have cultural relevance; packaged and branded well; have value in their brand and product; have a compelling story; have innovative products; brands that align with Things Jamaican’s brand image, high business acumen, and the ability to scale up.

Shoppers are being encouraged to take advantage of this promotion and benefit from huge deals, gifts, discounts, and so much more. Things Jamaican is one of the largest purchasers, retailers, and promoters of authentic Jamaican products of the highest quality and currently markets products on behalf of over 600 active producers islandwide through their ecommerce site, www.thingsjamaicanshopping.com, and chain of three locations: Shop 26, Devon House; Norman Manley Airport; and JBDC head office, 14 Camp Road.

In the last fiscal year (April 2023-March 2024), over 400 clients with over 2,000 unique products gained market access through the Things Jamaican stores. In total, 42,198 units of products were sold during the period, representing a 25 per cent increase over the previous period.