Business View Magazine
        
        
          
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          plants in Jamaica and the only soluble coffee process-
        
        
          ing plant in the entire Caribbean region. It supplies a
        
        
          full complement of Jamaican coffees via roasted and
        
        
          ground beans, in addition to roasted whole beans and
        
        
          soluble instants.
        
        
          Away from the island nation’s signature beaches, Ja-
        
        
          maica’s rugged terrain caters well to coffee typically
        
        
          grown between 1,500 and 5,000 feet. Salada’s Premi-
        
        
          um Blue Mountain Coffee takes the flavor to another
        
        
          level – literally – by taking advantage of the rich, fer-
        
        
          tile and well-drained soil within a 10-mile radius of the
        
        
          country’s highest point, the 7,402-foot Blue Mountain
        
        
          Peak.
        
        
          The formal link to Salada Tea ended when the Jamai-
        
        
          can company went public as one of the first businesses
        
        
          listed on the island’s stock exchange. In fact, Salada
        
        
          Foods Jamaica Ltd. has now been run domestically for
        
        
          more than 40 years, according to its current managing
        
        
          director, Keshia Nelson-Brown.
        
        
          “It has seen a bit of transition,” she said. “The last
        
        
          ownership change was in 2008, where the current ma-
        
        
          jority shareholder bought the company from another
        
        
          local holder, who wanted to move into other areas of
        
        
          business and found a local partner who was willing to
        
        
          buy into the company.”
        
        
          The current workforce includes 50 full-time employ-
        
        
          ees – eight managers, 42 staff members – though
        
        
          the number spikes to around 280 during production
        
        
          periods, when additional people are needed for main-
        
        
          tenance, and to operate the line that creates the cof-
        
        
          AT A GLANCE
        
        
          WHO:
        
        
          Salada Foods Jamaica Ltd.
        
        
          WHAT:
        
        
          Producer and exporter of beverages,
        
        
          drink mixes and dessert products to markets
        
        
          throughout the Caribbean region, as well as North
        
        
          America and European countries.
        
        
          WHERE:
        
        
          Kingston, Jamaica
        
        
          WEBSITE
        
        
          :