Now 65 years old, the Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) has not only etched its name in the minds of many Jamaicans but is a world-known brand, having expanded its operations to the United States and for some time was an active player in the Haitian economy, while exporting to other Caricom member countries .

The very vertically integrated agro-processing conglomerate had its genesis in May 1958 when directors Sydney Levy, Byron Coombs and Larry Udell founded the company with the flagship brand Best Dressed Chicken. Levy later bought out the shares of Coombs and Udell, becoming the sole proprietor until 1992.

“It’s always been chicken,” current President and CEO of JBG Christopher Levy told
Jamaica Observer in a matter of fact tone in his office at the group’s Old Harbour, St Catherine, head office recently.

“Eventually [we went] into different things but always, I can tell you, we’ve always been in the chicken business,” he said excitedly, seguing to share when JBG made its first dividend payment of £1.00 in 1960 to his grandfather, Sydney, holding up the framed certificate.

Reiterating that JBG had its beginning in the poultry business, Levy pointed out that since then the group has diversified its offerings over the years to include both broiler and table egg hatcheries, among other businesses. Notwithstanding the enterprise’s success today, the president/CEO pointed out that the early years of pioneering the local broiler industry was, indeed, challenging, especially since Jamaica then had a fragmented poultry market consisting of importers and small farmers supplying local demand.

“The challenge was getting farmers to sign up on a contract scheme, and then just the investment required to build the hatcheries and the processing plant out by Spring Village now that’s there, and then obviously the opportunity to [purchase] the feed mill that’s down by Clarendon,” Levy explained.

The business continued to face challenges in the tense political climate of the 1970s and, again, following the devastation of the country by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Despite these obstacles, Levy described JBG as being “blessed” — a word that he used repeatedly in his account of JBG’s history.

When asked if the company has always been an organisation influenced by the Christian ethos, Levy said that was not always the case. However, during the 1970s the company took an about-turn after recognising the bounty of success it had reaped over the years and in a spirit of goodwill, offered its then-employees, contractors, farmers and other partners a block of its shares through an employee share ownership programme (ESOP).

“I think that the amazing blessing that we’ve seen is that God has really sustained us through these many, many years. So He’s been gracious unto us in times when it just seems like it’s at the end of the road,” Levy stated, adding that the ESOP was initiated after the Levy brood recognised “God’s blessing, and wanted to share it with everybody that was involved in the organisation”.

That Christocentric worldview continues to be a guiding light for JBG today, with its mission being: “With God’s guidance, we shall efficiently manage the company to fulfill our obligations to our customers, shareholders, employees, contractors and the community at large, with an attitude of service and a commitment to truth, fairness and the building of goodwill.” In fact, it was this approach to business that led to the creation of the group’s stand-alone farm store and hardware depot in White Marl, St Catherine — HiPro Ace.

Recognising that the group had an excessive amount of farming tools, equipment and other supplies, as well as the means to access them at affordable rates, the JBG management team took the decision to open a store that would service farmers in the parish of St Catherine and other farm supply outlets in the rest of Jamaica. Levy added, too, that while the hardware and lumber segment of the economy had developed to a point, there was barely any major supplier of farm inventory.

“So it was a way for us to support our farmers producing,” he outlined.

JBG has also invested in its hatcheries business that provides the Jamaican market with table eggs. The group’s most recent capital injection in that business line was in May last year when Levy, alongside then Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr, cut the ribbon to commission the Cumberland, St Catherine-based hatchery. Here, the president/CEO noted that the move into distributing table eggs was to leverage the group’s capabilities.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, JBG again came to market with new portfolio brands in content beef and aquaculture, adding cattle and fish farming to its business operations. However, according to Levy, the company took a hit when mad cow disease “decimated the beef industry in Jamaica”.

Taking a different approach, JBG thereafter began operating a cattle breeding segment that sold weaners to cattle farmers across Jamaica. Currently the group has a herd of about 700 heads of cattle.

Still, another blessing coming out of the content beef and aquaculture experiment was the company’s foray into meat processing in the form of its Reggae Jammin burger line and Best Dressed breaded nuggets and strips.

On this note, Levy pointed out that the agro-processor has had to constantly reinvest in its operations as it continues to find new ways of innovating.

“And I’ve been to the factory and see it’s not just an investment in only the machinery, it’s also an investment in people,” he shared, adding: “So we invest in them. We have folks that we send to Harvard, we have folks that we send on various PhD [programmes] and develop them in terms of our learning in poultry.”

Aside from employees, JBG also invests in the local agriculture sector by supporting a number of initiatives that focus on women and youth in agriculture. A mainstay of the group’s support is its yearly sponsorship of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show.

Justifying the company’s spend in this regard, Levy highlighted that JBG considers the food security of Jamaica paramount, arguing that the sustainability of any nation is dependent on its ability to feed itself. In fact, while the company has taken some flak for having government-sanctioned protection in the poultry industry, Levy pointed to the lasting negative impacts from the decline of the sugar, coconut and dairy industries.

“The challenge that you’re faced with in agriculture is that it’s a long-term business that requires protection from a number of things; one, obviously, is subsidies and dumping. But also, it requires protection in terms of promotion, because it’s not an in-your-face sexy business. It’s folks tilling soil, working hard with their hands on the ground and the only time you see it is when that carrot or tomato gets in front of you, the consumer,” the JBG president outlined.

“And as much as we as little Jamaica have a relatively small agricultural sector, we need to recognise how critical it is to our country and to our economy. Will it be everything? No, it won’t and it can’t. But it does require deep support from the community and requires deep support from the Government. There is no doubt about that, or else the entire economy of our country has to be remodelled,” he continued, noting that farmers are “unsung heroes”.

JBG celebrated another milestone in 1992 when it became a listed company on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). That injection of capital was critical in helping the company’s expansion locally, and eventually, though years later, expand beyond the borders of Jamaica, with the company making acquisitions in the United States and Haiti.

In the US, the company operates seven facilities: Wincorp International and Consolidated Freight & Shipping, Inc in Florida; International Poultry Breeders in Georgia, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania; Crystal Feeds in Georgia; and The Best Dressed Chicken in South Carolina.

In a notice on the JSE website last Friday, JBG announced the sale of its assets held in the Welp Hatchery in Iowa for US$23 million.

Commenting on the group’s previous operation in Haiti, which began in 2010, Levy lamented shuttering the business in 2022 after seeing the escalation of violence in that country that resulted in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Describing the event as a watershed moment, the JBG CEO expressed that, “We, without a doubt, took the right decision,” adding that the company took a hit. Altogether, the group absorbed an impairment of $1.04 billion in 2022 and a loss on disposal of $429.13 million in 2023.

Looking ahead, Levy said the group continues to look for opportunities to innovate with new products, expand its footprint in the US, and grow its exports in Caricom. Sales to the region account for around 15 per cent of revenue, he disclosed.

Again emphasising that the company is blessed, he said JBG looks forward to giving back to its employees, community and the wider Jamaican public. Underscoring its commitment to giving back to the country, JBG will cap its 65th year of existence with the hosting of the Fun in the Son gospel concert at the National Stadium.