Building the brand

RALPH AVERY was poised to corner a major share of the local fertiliser market. With exports to the United States growing, in the early 1980s family commitments caused him to relocate there. Faced with the choice of giving his children a chance at a better life or using the combination of his marketing skills, network, and immense product knowledge to build an empire, he chose in favour of his wife and five children.

By the time he returned to Jamaican in 2000, Avery was satisfied with the start he had given his children, but the yearning to use his wealth of knowledge to create Jamaican products would not be sated. However, the opportunity to capitalise on the niche in the fertiliser market he had worked so hard to establish was long gone - or so it seemed. Creative by instinct and restless by nature, he had to find an avenue for his creative energy and started slowly, building up the Avery brand of local fruit juices which include sorrel, June plum, and sorrel/ginger, as well as pineapples slices.