By Ayanna Kirton, Staff Reporter
Lowell Hawthorne and wife Lorna. - File
THE Jamaican-owned United States-based Golden Krust Bakery has retained Tiki Barber, National Football League (NFL) running back for the New York Giants to serve as its spokesperson for its patties and other Caribbean cuisine.
This is probably the first time an American pro football player has been employed to create mass appeal for Jamaican products.
"Tiki Barber will create awareness of the products within our cross over markets (which comprise of) persons of various ethnic backgrounds, non-Caribbean natives," said Lowell Hawthorne, president and chief executive officer of Golden Krust Bakery.
The name Golden Krust has become synonymous with Jamaican patties and Caribbean cuisine across the United States over the last 12 years. Founded in 1989 by Hawthorne and his family, the Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill has evolved from one outlet in the Bronx, New York to a multi-million dollar corporation, offering franchises across the United States.
"There was the need for a good Caribbean product in the market," said Hawthorne. "My father operated a bakery in Lawrence Tavern (St. Andrew), so making this decision was almost like going back to my roots."
A former accountant with the New York Police Department, Hawthorne considers the local patty industry a fairly good one because of its captive audience. Though his company imports most of its produce from Jamaican farmers, he has opted not to set up an outlet locally because of limitations in terms of the size of Jamaica's population.
"Competing for market share among a population of only 2.5 million people is more difficult than doing so with a population of (more than) 250 million," he explained.
The company's subsidiary, Golden Krust Franchising Inc., operates 61 bakery/restaurant retail stores across the United States and plans to open three stores per month as it brings "a taste of the Caribbean" to each neighbourhood. Golden Krust projects some 250 stores in operation within the next five years.
According to him, when compared to other types of fast food, Golden Krust patties are higher in nutritional value. So much so that the company has been approved by the New York City authorities and commissioned to distribute its products within the public school system as part of the city's Child Nutritional Programme, he said.
Hawthorne visited Jamaica a few days ago along with his wife Lorna, the company's administrative manager and operator of two Golden Krust outlets. As part of the Hawthorne's effort to give something back to the local community, they will be awarding four scholarships to students of Oberlin High School in St. Andrew, to assist them in pursuing studies at the University of the West Indies. The scholarships are to be awarded on the basis of academic achievements.
