Avia Collinder, Business Reporter

Nicholas Colquhoun sells 40,000 boxes of his Nature's Blend juice weekly. It is marketed primarily in Kingston and St Andrew.

From a small factory on Elspeth Avenue in Kingston, Colquhoun, 41, mixes up oats, honey, peanuts, spices and other ingredients into an increasingly popular blend.

Colquhoun bought the juice-making concern 11 years ago, from where he manufactures the Nature Blend range, as well as other juices from fruits, such as sour sop, melon and tamarind; and vegetables, including cucumber and beet root. The juices, he stated, have no preservatives

But, Nature's Blend is the best-seller for Colquhoun and would be doing even better if the factory did not have equipment problems, Colquhoun told Sunday Business.

The operation is also affected during the annual storm season, when honey - a key ingredient - invariably becomes scarce for around four months of the year.

Under ordinary circumstances, Colquhoun would stockpile the ingredient, but his current budget does not allow for this.

Hoping for assistance

"We are hoping to get some assistance through the JBDC (Jamaica Business Development Corporation); $1million would get us up and moving," Colquhoun said

"Distribution is also slowing us down. If we could be on time, we could send out more. We need a vehicle, the correct blenders and refrigerated trucks. We have to be using home blenders, and some semi-commercial types, which are destroyed in five months."

Colquhoun said there was demand in the United Kingdom and Cayman Islands for Nature's Blend, but to tap those markets he first needed to overcome his financing problems.

"The drink moves so fast we could support three eight-hour shifts. By the time we give a supplier 60 juices, they are calling again."

avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com

Natural Mystic, a pineapple and callaloo juice blend, made by Christine Ryan.

Christine Ryan, 31, produces Natural Mystic, a cool mixture of pineapple and callaloo, which she says is surprisingly well loved by children.

Ryan, who holds down a full-time job as an executive assistant at a law firm, is a member of the Jamaica Business Development Centre's Jamaica Wellness Cluster, which recently guided her through accessing a private sector development programme (PSDP) grant of $1 million to rebrand and expand production.

Pine-a-loo Dash, with chief ingredients pineapple and callaloo, comes with a dash of ginger and lime.

Flavours to come

Ryan said that her juice was only the first in a line of flavours to come.

She recently tested a sugarless version, which she said has been greeted enthusiastically by diabetics.

The 14-month-old company was born after Ryan experienced, she said, the healing effects of natural fruit and vegetable juices after a long illness.

It was her doctor, she said, who encouraged her to sell the juice commercially.

"He had the juice, enjoyed it, and he said why not sell it. I also did some sampling and some health fairs and the response was good," the businesswoman recalled.

At first, Ryan used her blender at home. She then leased a commercial juicer, gradually buying other items needed.

Natural Mystic is now sold in two supermarkets in Portmore, St Catherine, and a pharmacy.

Ryan and her family also take orders by phone, and deliver to clients.

The PSDP grant, she said, would finance the purchase of equipment, improve packaging and rebrand her juice line. Currently sold in 16-ounce bottles, Ryan plans to introduce juice sachets for the school market.

"Kids really love it," she states. "We also hope to do chutneys and other natural-food products."

Natural Mystic has also hired a marketing consultant to facilitate wider sales, both locally and overseas.

avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com