Jamaican Coffee Industry Takes Branding To The Next Level
By: Ainsley Brown
The Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (CIB) launched its new website last week. The site, according to The Gleaner, promises to be the main source of comprehensive information on Jamaican coffee for buyers and stakeholders.
The CIB, a quasi-independent statutory body, is charged with the responsibility of having oversight over the various players in the Jamaican coffee industry. In other words it monitors and ensures Jamaican coffee is only of the highest quality; manages the branding of coffee – the main brand being Jamaican Blue Mountain, a tasty coffee by the way – and; market’s the Jamaican branded coffee locally and internationally.
Coffee for Jamaica represents a significant foreign exchange earner to the tune of approximately US $30 million in 2008. The CIB hopes that the site will help to significantly improve on this mark.
The site, which received funding from the Canadian Development Agency (CIDA), will provide detailed information about the latest developments in the Jamaican coffee industry; quality control; new branding and marketing initiatives; and licensing certification. The second phase of the site, set to launch in a few months, will allow buyers (internationally and locally) to track online the progress of their coffee shipments. Access to such information should prove to be of tremendous vale to coffee buyers making it easier for them to manage their supply lines. This second phase of the site could also prove to be the most valuable component of the site for the CIB.
I say well done to the CIB and best of luck. However, will offer one piece of advice, please, please, I implore you; please ensure that the site is well managed – the only thing worse than not having a website is have a poorly managed one. This should include accessibility; easy of use; frequent updates; and accuracy – in a word, the site has to have Trustworthy-Authority.
