Wisynco's Boom to enter five new markets
Published:Wednesday | July 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM
William Mahfood, managing director of Wisynco Group, says domestic sales of imported energy drinks have dipped since the imposition of a new excise tax.
He is now positioning his product, Boom, to enter five new export markets by 2012 to grow sales for the brand.
A 15 per cent special consumption tax was levied against energy drinks last year, and since then, Mahfood said, the sale of imported brands have faltered.
Wisynco also distributes Red Bull.
"The imported products took a big decrease due to the imposition of the SCT, and they are just starting to improve again," he said.
Jamaica's energy-drink market is estimated at about J$2 billion, says director of the beverage division at Wisynco, François Chalifour.
Wisynco, he said, has a two-thirds share of the market.
"Because Red Bull is the higher-priced drink, it has been hit harder by the SCT. But Boom, which is lower priced, has found better market acceptance and has grown 15 per cent year over year," said Chalifour.
Boom already exports to Dominica. The new export markets - which Wisynco declined to identify - are projected to double sales of the energy drink, Mahfood said.
Boom was launched in 2010 to compete with imported energy brands.
"In the last year and a half, we invested almost J$700 million in production capacity alone, with a big part of the focus being the exports. We expect that the five export markets will almost double the Jamaican business, which will be a first for any product like this," said Mahfood.
"Our anticipation is that it will continue to grow for us, driven by the export markets that offer diversity for us and the country. We are on the eighth container in months, and this is a great sign."