sept-2016

100-101 / 128

100 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 101
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
‘Sparkle’ brand flavors include Lime, Banana, Cream
Soda, Sorrel, and Cola Champagne. “And we have
been increasing the number of flavors that we offer,”
Phillip adds. “In October 2015, we launched four addi-
tional flavors: Sparkle Grape, Sparkle Orange, Sparkle
Tropical Fizz, which is a lemon/lime-based drink, and
our Sparkle Tropical Cola. And we do not produce just
soft drinks. We also produce water, which is known as
‘Aqua Vita.’
In a competitive marketplace, Phillip believes that one
of his company’s advantages lies in the fact that it is
the only soft drink producer on the island. “However,
because of the openness of our economy, there are
other Caribbean producers that export to St. Kitts,” he
says. In addition, Coca-Cola, with whom SKBC is no
longer associated, still maintains a distribution pres-
ence in the southern Caribbean. “What differentiates
us are two things,” Phillip maintains. “The quality of
our product is well-known, having been in existence for
60-odd years; and there’s also the local component –
persons are more ‘touched’ because it’s a local com-
pany.”
While SKBC continues to preserve its share of the lo-
cal market, it is also pursuing business outside of the
country. “In terms of new markets, we are in serious
discussion with a company out of St. Lucia,” says Phil-
lip. “We will be bottling for them under a different label,
and shipping to them under a co-pack arrangement.
AT A GLANCE
WHO: The St. Kitts Bottling Company Ltd.
WHAT: A manufacturer and wholesaler of bottled
water and soft drinks
WHERE: Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis
WEBSITE: