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NAMILCO prepares local bakers for expected niche market
Bakers as they engaged in mixing exercise at the event
NAMILCO’s Bert Sukhai as he addressed
the gathering.
With the oil and gas on the verge of take off in Guyana, the National Milling Company of Guyana Inc. (NAMILCO) is preparing local bakeries to be ready for competition, and be able to target a certain niche market.
Just recently the company hosted a one-day theory and practical workshop at the Marriott International Hotel, Georgetown to educate bakers in that regard.
Using specialists from the Germany Company DeutscheBack, representatives from bakeries around Guyana were given theory and practical training surrounding ‘Trends in the Global Baking Industry’.
According to NAMLCO’s Managing Director, Bert Sukhai, oil in Guyana will bring a very sophisticated influx of visitors and business officials to Guyana. He said that with such a calibre of visitors coming, will certainly bring trending and varying tastes in cuisines and baking products, hence the workshop on Friday geared at introducing new cakes, breads, rolls and pastries.
Addressing the gathering, Sukhai said that the spotlight is on Guyana and its investors from every part of the world will be looking for opportunities here. He said that this can impact on businesses in both a negative and positive manner. He said that since investors may be looking at the baking and catering industry, the livelihood of local bakers can be threatened. He said in the need to protect their market, they need to re-engineer their businesses, and a complete change in the way they trade. He said businesses will need to practice first world techniques or be left behind.
He said that he is aware of larger bakeries that are looking to enter Guyana, citing that our local bakers will have to be on guard and be able to find a niche market to be able to remain in business. He admonished bakers to make their premises more inviting to customers, improve on packaging, and also to engage in strategic marketing. He also advised to focus on wider variety and coming up with ways of enhancing and making customary products more enticing.
He advised bakers to work diligently on acquiring international certification, observe good food manufacturing practices, and to acquire the new Food Safety Act that was recently passed and examine how it affects their businesses. Sukahi also urged representatives to practice compliance. He suggested that businesses learn to differentiate products, since this creates value, builds brand loyalty, makes competition irrelevant, gets them popular and gives consumers good reason to buy.
At the event bakers were taught on the proper preparation of puff pastry dough and the variety of products it can be used for. There was also a ‘Hands in Dough’ segment which was the practical aspect of the initiative.
Presenters at the event also included DeutscheBack’s Regional Sales Manager, Marc Duncker; the Private Sector Commission’s Captain Gerald Gouveia; NAMILCO’s Regional Sales Manager, Marc Duncker, and DeutscheBack Research and Development’s, Tania Monsivais.
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