By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A major wholesaler has agreed to distribute the products of two more Bahamian food producers via an agreement with the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC).

The Government agency yesterday signed a second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Milo Butler and Sons, which will see the latter distribute products supplied by Cyntiche Taylor, executive director of Caribbean Cheer, and Melita Carey, founder of Quoise Wines.

Leroy Major, BAIC's chairman, said this second such agreement will enable the agency to fulfill its mandate of promoting Bahamian-made products. “In August of last year, distribution contracts were signed with the owners of Island Bliss of Exuma, Wentworth and Marsha Musgrove, producers of honey, and with the owner of V&V Condiments, Vianna Gibson, producer of jams, pepper sauces, and seasoning," he said.

"BAIC and Milo Butler and Sons are today continuing to strengthen our relationship by providing more Bahamians an opportunity to empower themselves.”

Ms Taylor produces a locally-made dish washing liquid, Caribbean Cheer, which is available in stores now. She said she began production in July 2023, and demand has grown with the assistance of BAIC and now Milo Butler and Sons.

Ms Carey, meanwhile, started Quoise Wines three years ago because she had an “abundance” of wild grapes and nothing to use them for until a friend asked her to start making her own wine. She added that a family member used to make wine, so she studied the process and Quoise Wines was borns. They are now sold in all Flying Dutchman liquor stores, which is a Milo Butler and Sons affiliate company.

Alan Butler, Milo Butler and Sons' managing director, said of the signing: “We have mandated in our company that 25 percent of our products to be distributed through The Bahamas will be Bahamian-made products.”

“It has not been an easy road to try to get there and, of course, we are still struggling to make that happen. Nonetheless, we are not giving up, because we believe in the Bahamian product. We believe in what we have here. And COVID-19, if anything, should have taught us that we need to become to some degree more self-sufficient in what we do here in this country. This is our way of showing our contribution towards that.”

Mr Butler, highlighted, however that the major challenge with helping small Bahamian processors has been finding a true price point for their products along with proper packaging and labelling.

Many Bahamian-made products, especially if they come from a Family Island, add on multiple costs when they are passed through different “middle-men” in the supply and distribution chain. If this can be minimised with help from BAIC to streamline the production and distribution process, local firms will fare much better when getting their goods to market.

A second problem that Bahamian processors face is that they fail to label their products properly. “Some of them have no bar codes and no ingredients labels,” Mr Butler said. These are critical if Bahamian producers want to expand into the tourism market and cruise ships as international protocols dictate that products must display an ingredients list at the bare minimum on their packaging.