William Mahfood: "I think if all things happen the way we anticipate over the course of this year, Cranberry Wata will possibly be the number-two total volume beverage selling in Jamaica." - File

Coming off a recent J$500 million plant expan-sion, manufacturing and distribution company, turned fast-food operator, Wisynco, is leveraging its joint marketing deal with juice maker, Ocean Spray, to get its new cranberry-flavoured water into new overseas markets. And while it outlines plans to spend up to US$700,000 (J$62 million) next year to step up production of this and other new products to be rolled out, the group continues to restructure its new fast food businesses, closing loss-making outlets while opening new stores.

In an effort to gain greater market recognition internationally for its Cran Wata, Wisynco says it will be redesigning the product label to make the better known Ocean Spray brand more dominant.

At the same time, William Mahfood, Wisynco's managing director, says contrary to rumours that the company's new acquisitions, Domino's Pizza and Wendy's are in shutdown mode, the local operations of the international franchises are looking to open at least two new stores under each brand - at Fairview Shopping Centre in Montego Bay and in the Barbican and Constant Spring Road areas of upper St Andrew - spending some $65 million on the expansion drive.

The expansion will see Wisynco going for long-term leases rather than acquiring real estate.

There is no intention to close down any of the seven Domino's outlets located in Mandeville, Portmore, Spanish Town and Kingston stores at Hope Road, Washington Boulevard and Constant Spring Road, Mahfood said this week.

Market-penetration drive

Earlier this month, the Financial Gleaner reported that the unprofitable Domino's Pizza outlet at the Norman Manley Airport and the New Kingston Wendy's outlet had been closed.

Meanwhile, pushing the Ocean Spray brand in the forefront of a new marketing pitch for Wisynco's new flavoured water line, Mahfood has set eyes on South America, Central America, Canada and the United Kingdom in an effort to grow the business, a market-penetration drive to be fuelled by recently expanded production capacity at its St Catherine factory.

Of the strategic move to piggyback on the Ocean Spray name, the Wisynco boss explained:

"It will give more recognition to the product outside of Jamaica because, as part of the global agreement with Ocean Spray, what we have asked for is an expanded market size which includes South and Central America. We have also approached Ocean Spray to get licence for Canada and the United Kingdom."

Great deal

In October last year, Wisynco inked a licensing deal with Ocean Spray, giving the Jamaican company the rights to manufacture and distribute the Ocean Spray cranberry-flavoured water in the Caribbean and Central America.

Mahfood declined to disclose the value of the deal, saying instead "the deal is worth the quantity of goods sold under the brand, with a potential as much as 10 million cases over the next three years."

Outside Jamaica, the product has just been launched in Trinidad and Tobago, and is set to enter Puerto Rico by the end of March.

A challenge

Following the Puerto Rico roll-out, Cran Wata is slated to enter other Caribbean countries, including Belize, Antigua, St Kitts and Guyana, where the company already has a distribution network.

However, Mahfood has conceded that entering the South and Central American markets will prove challenging because of knotty issues such as product registration and language translation.

"To enter these bigger markets we will have to find the right partner, someone similar to ourselves with a distribution network and who knows the culture and industry there," Mahfood said.

While declining to give sales figures, Mahfood said the product has been a success in Jamaica since coming on the market a year ago and its one year sales performance has topped all new products launched by Wisynco.

"I think if all things happen the way we anticipate over the course of this year, Cranberry Wata will possibly be the number-two total volume beverage selling in Jamaica," he said.

Wisynco now produces 7,000 cases of the product a year and plans to up this to 10,000 cases within the next 12 months.

New flavours

The current label is expected to be discontinued in Jamaica within the next month with a switch over to the new label in all the markets.

The product is now available in two flavours - red and white cranberry. The company says it plans to introduce to the market by June this year, new flavours such as strawberry. Wisynco is also exploring the introduction of new sizes of the drink.

"We have probably spent $15 million in product development, including labels and now going to spend another $40 million in development of marketing material and creative concepts around Cranberry Wata."

While 2009 is not expected to be a very heavy capital-expenditure year, Wisynco says its projects spend up to US$700,000 (J$62 million) next year on new equipment to support more new product launches.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com