Youth market ‘moving away from rum’

Global demand driven by younger consumers is shifting production trends from rum exports towards health and wellness products, according to Chief Executive Officer of Export Barbados, Mark Hill.

He told Barbados TODAY that consumer tastes are changing, and one of Barbados’ oldest exports — rum — is being affected.

He said: “What we are seeing is the taste and the emphasis on health around us is becoming a massive global trend. So to that extent, the funny things like our rum exports have been impacted by that. This younger generation is moving away from rum and alcoholic drinks and moving to more healthy mocktails and even lighter cocktails. And they are also moving towards can (canned drinks).”

Export Barbados is monitoring the broader global shift towards health and wellness products, he said.

“People are eating healthier, especially the younger generation. We have an ageing population as well. So those dynamics are taking us through some significant changes with respect to the goods that the globe demands.”

He also revealed that energy costs have posed challenges for Barbados’ export capacity, noting that the Green Industrial Gateway for Global Investors (GIGA) programme is helping to address the issue.

“We have the energy costs that we have to address and to break down the cost of energy so we can become a lot more competitive when it comes to producing goods. So our GIGA programme is designed to help reduce the cost of that energy towards industry so we can become more competitive.

“New levels of compute (computation) and intelligence that we’re speaking about at this particular forum. So that access to artificial intelligence and using artificial intelligence to help us with our production, design, development of our new products, that we have that capability from a solvent perspective and then zeroing in on our science and strengthening our science, strengthening our certification. Because certification is also becoming a massive barrier.”

Hill explained that Barbados’ scientific capability needs to increase to meet international standards.

“We’re just strengthening the fundamentals of our capacity to produce new goods. Strengthening the fundamentals of our productive sector so that we can respond to the changes that are happening within the group.”

The Export Barbados head also reported growth in new services being exported.

“Scientific services is a massive increase in terms of the same certification component; that is one area. So traditionally we do finance, insurance, those types of service export. But what we’re seeing is a new trend in software development; we’re seeing a new trend around artificial intelligence as well. But also what we call scientific skills: engineering. 

“Barbadians are going out and helping with construction projects overseas. So we’re seeing that our service capabilities are now in greater demand across the planet, because skills is a global product.”

He described it as a new scientific engineering base that has been growing consistently over the past few years.

The Barbados Centres of Excellence programme is instrumental in helping to train young people to meet global demand, he said. 

“All that training and the scientific capabilities around that, they come into the Centre of Excellence, and they learn how to function at an industrial skill level. Then, as they learn and do internships, they can then move back out and set up their own operations with the financing support.”

In addition to that programme, Hill said Export Barbados’ International Fashion Technology Institute is deliberately focusing on fashion technology rather than simply fashion production and design.

He explained that people are increasingly ordering clothing online, but garments often do not fit properly.

“The fashion skills are not just about aesthetics, but also about ergonomics, making sure that you can pick and design and do what we call adjustments. But the adjustment industry is going to be a massive industry. So people can go online, order what they want, but when it comes in, it isn’t necessarily great. So being able to make those adjustments on the go. So our emphasis is more on fashion technology and not necessarily so much on fashion production or fashion design.”

He said the Institute also provides assistance through technology.

“There are scanners that can scan any body type. And you design the patterns and the systems. This is a totally new way of delivering services, not just your human capabilities only, but using new levels of intelligence to help us to be able to do greater speed and greater efficiency, deliver higher quality products and services. So we’re investing, we’re doing the capex (capital expenditure) on our end. And then we are also investing in helping entrepreneurs today.”

Hill made a distinction between capital expenditure and operating expenditure (OpEx).

“Not helping them with their OpEx, but as part of your business growth, as part of your development. But we are at least carrying them significantly on the capex side,” he explained.

He noted that entrepreneurs operating through the Centres of Excellence have an advantage because they do not carry the same operating costs.

“Within the Centre of Excellence, those entrepreneurs who come through that, they don’t carry the same operating costs and they don’t carry the same burden that an entrepreneur before the Centre of Excellence or Centre of Discovery. So, the special technical assistance that we used to offer before around marketing and stuff, didn’t bear as much fruit.

“But what we’re seeing now is that we’re investing in capital equipment and capabilities and infrastructure so that there is no cost to the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur only has to, one, focus on marketing, product quality, and distribution, while the ecosystem behind them is helping them to be able to meet the production and the industrial needs.”

(LG)