Brands: Seprod goes leaner - and sweeter - with Serge Island brand push

Richard Pandohie

Though ravaged by drought and other vagaries last year, there's still plenty to bay about over in the grassy expanse of Serge Island Dairy farms.

The brand, beneficiary of a robust J$200million investment in new wells and irrigation systems, and a USD3.5million factory push, is on something of a bull run, with several new products introduced or ready for market.

SEPROD CEO Richard Pandohie, in a no-nonsense address to the annual shareholders' meeting at Kingston's Knutsford Court,  spoke of the new Evaporated milk, Condensed milk and also Lactose-free milk lines.

The lactose-free will hit retail shelves in about 2 weeks, but members at the meeting got a taste of the other products, plus the revamped packaging for traditional products.

The CEO says its an exciting time for SEPROD and the overall aesthetics bear out that statement, the local dairy industry may yet be a while from greener pastures, but for now, it looks as if SEPROD's  dairy space is ....well, overflowing.

Business:To Bank, or Not to Bank? the island's two mortgage giants go different ways

The two shareholder annual meetings had markedly different tenors. At the Pegasus, the main ballroom had an expectant air, the air of a giant in transition. There, Earl Jarrett, General Manger (more on that later) of the Jamaica National Building Society, comfortably the nation's largest mortgage lender, and a firm rapidly on the move both geographically and service-wise over the last decade, announced that a "no objection" letter had been received from the Central Bank (Bank of Jamaica) to JN's long-standing proposal to establish a commercial bank.

This was a crucial development in the regulatory process, but, as Jarrett pointed , by no means the ultimate step. Pressed for a more specific timeline, he cautioned that the new entity would definitely NOT  be operational before the end of the 1st quarter of 2016. When it does come on stream, he said, it would significantly boost JN's operational capacity, and - ultimately - revenue and profit position. the banking sector has seen some heat in recent months, with insurance/financial giant Sagicor operationalizing its purchase of the former Royal Bank of Canada and with market number two, bank of Nova Scotia undergoing a region-wide rationalization of branches.

No such mood over at the Knutsford Court just days after, where number two mortgage lender Victoria Mutual, which has also expanded its reach into other financial services but has no plans, at leas in the foreseeable future, to return to the banking arena (it had operated, in tandem with insurer Island Life, the groundbreaking Island Victoria Bank in the 90s, before the FINSAC scythe). Chairman Michael McMorris did state to members that the company was looking for opportunities to expand its ATM network, which it has grown on the back of an aggressive "no or low fees" strategy and the more expected home sweepstakes promotion.

Both organizations are well run and known for the kind of prudent yet occasionally aggressive management that spawned deep shareholder (member) loyalty and goodwill, with one notable JN member seeking to put a motion to the meeting that Jarrett's title be "upgraded" to President, rather than GM, to reflect the scope of the portfolio