Growth & Jobs | JAMPRO says Castor manufacturing is an industry to watch in 2018

If you pay attention to cosmetics and wellness shelves in your favourite store, you may notice that castor oil has become one of the most popular natural resources used in products for the hair and skin. Long known for its health benefits in Jamaica, Jamaican black castor oil (JBCO) has become a staple in the hair community, especially in the United States.

After doing much research in 2016, JAMPRO identified numerous opportunities for the castor industry, including growing, manufacturing and exporting. The most significant strength of the Jamaican castor industry is the distinctive competitive advantage and brand awareness of JBCO; the product's brand and quality reputation is very strong throughout North America and Europe.

According to JAMPRO's 'Developing the Castor Oil Opportunity' study, JBCO and its related products have worldwide annual retail sales of between US$75 million and US$100 million, and it is estimated that by 2020, sales are forecast to reach US$3.4 billion.

Global market research body Mintel forecasts that these figures could reach as high as US$4.3 billion by 2020, if the demand continues on its upward trajectory.

With the opportunity identified, JAMPRO partnered with the Jamaica Castor Industry Association (JCIA) in 2016 to assist with the industry's development. Through this partnership, JAMPRO hosted two cosmetics trade missions to London and Atlanta at the Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show in 2017. Both missions marketed castor-based products for export. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with companies securing orders and promoting JBCO to a new audience.

For JAMPRO, this confirmed the growing demand for the product on the international market, and the potential that exists for manufacturing JBCO for export. While Jamaicans have been using JBCO for decades, the industry is fairly new. Like all new industries, there are concerns of maintaining standards to ensure that there is sufficient growth.

... JCIA moving forward to develop sector

Joel Harris, president of the Jamaica Castor Industry Association (JCIA) and manufacturer of black castor oil, aims to "organise and formalise this industry through the collective adherence of best practices, regulations and standards, and conformity and distribution of homogeneous data throughout the castor industry."

Harris also explained that the JCIA would be moving forward to develop the castor industry and secure the integrity of Jamaican black castor oil, as there are concerns that this unique product will lose its Jamaican authenticity.

He shared that, "the JCIA is committed to primarily securing the integrity, history and the exclusive right to produce and sell Jamaican castor oil and Jamaican black castor oil through various IP protection protocols. We also aim to provide growth opportunities for its members through the formulation of projects and agreements with key local and international players".

This is excellent news for those who are interested in the sector but are concerned about protecting the brand and ensuring that the industry has a voice on the Jamaican business landscape.

With the industry uniting under one umbrella to improve standards, and with JAMPRO providing export development support, there can only be positive developments coming from the industry. Castor is definitely a sector to watch for in 2018.