INTERVIEW: TIJULE COMPANY LIMITED
FEEDING JAMAICA Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Roy Newell, Managing Director at Tijule Company, about the challenges of growing through the pandemic, their most sought-after products, and how the company are making the most of the resources around them. By Izzy Moss Founded in 1984, Tijule Company is the result of a nutritionist’s revolutionary vision to utilize wasted raw materials in Jamaica, and to create something sustainable and employment for local people. Despite the challenges of the age, including an underdeveloped agro-processing sector, they persisted with their dream, and so Tijule was born. Today, the agro-processing company is alive and thriving, producing sauces, jams and jellies from a range of locally sourced ingredients, including cashews, bananas and avocados. AGAINST THE ODDS Since those humble beginnings, Tijule has developed into a leading food supplier, shipping its range of 20 locally sourced products 22 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
to markets worldwide. “The company has grown from a staff complement of about ten to 108 to date, employing people from different backgrounds and qualifications,” says Roy Newell, Managing Director of Tijule Company. “Over the years, we’ve diversified considerably in order to keep the company sustainable. Many of the products that we initially started out with have become highly competitive in the marketplace, and we’ve managed to enter into a number of major countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan. “Particularly when we launched our operations, the main challenge we faced was the labor-intensive nature of our work,” Mr. Newell continues. “Despite our ambition,
