peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt
KC Confectionery is pushing to expand its international exports as it attempts to reaffirm itself in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company, which celebrated 100 years in April, has been exploring new markets and expanding its current export portfolios.
On Wednesday, the candy company packed a full container headed for Grenada.
This marked that the first time KC had sold a full container to that country, as previously its distributors would only order less than a container load.
KC’s CEO Satnarine Bachew explained that the Couva based confectionery had been active on the export market even before the pandemic hit, as 70 per cent of its sales came from exports.
However, he said several lessons were learnt during the pandemic when sales declined.
“Currently we are after the COVID we are revisiting all of our current export markets to see where the opportunities are that we can grow and also looking at new markets. Especially in the US, the UK recently sent our first shipment into the UK just February of this year. And that is an opportunity for expansion. We know we can expand into Europe, which will bring real value to us,” Bachew said.
He said the exploration of the export market was tied into the company’s DNA which saw it emerge from Couva to become one the leading candy companies in the country.
“It’s always searching for the new wave and this is where we are right now searching for what will propel KC into the future, where the growth is going to come from and we are putting a lot of emphasis on expansion of our markets.
“The export market is going to be the key to KC. Because as we know what we call market is 1.3 million people whereas the export market is a whole world out there,” Bachew added.