74 October 2016 - Business View Caribbean
The St. Kitts Bottling Company Ltd.
Getting it right on soft drinks
The St. Kitts Bottling Company (SKBC) was formed in
1954, when a group of local entrepreneurs purchased
a small bottling operation in Basseterre. According to
Keithley Phillip, SKBC’s current Director, before that
time, the island was importing its soft drinks from An-
tigua. “The company started with 12 employees,” says
Phillip. “We started with our first brand, a local, indig-
enous brand called ‘Sparkle.’ About two years later, we
started our Coca-Cola franchise agreement.” The com-
pany continued to bottle and sell that world-famous
soft drink for over 50 years, only ending the relation-
ship in early 2015.
“We are manufacturers and wholesalers,” says Phillip.
“We produce for the federation of St. Kitts and Nev-
is, and we also export to the United States, St. Croix
and St. Thomas, the British Virgin Islands, Montser-
rat, Anguilla, Dominica, and St. Lucia.” The company’s
