US company seeks collaboration with local producers

A US-based brands, innovation and development company, Pam Bristow LLC, has expressed interest in collaborating with local producers in the food and fabric industry in the country to help brand their products for the global market.

The items include salt, which is Bristow LLC’s anchor product, moringa, shea butter, pineapple and fabric.

The support will be in the form of packaging, marketing and branding the entire value change of products.

According to the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Bristow LLC, Pam Bristow, the aim was to keep ownership of Ghanaian products that were exported outside the country in the hands of Ghanaians and not for others to lay claim to them.

“We want to make sure that the source of the product is identified. For instance, people around the world don’t know that shea butter is from this country, but they are using it all over the globe,” she said.

The company is on a week’s explorative visit to the country to meet individuals and companies, including media persons and entrepreneurs, for collaboration.

Ms Bristow’s team, which includes a former Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Elizabeth Adjei, and the hospitality, products and business development officer of Bristow LLC, Michelle Jean, called on the management of Media Majique and Research Systems (MMRS), an advertising company, in Accra yesterday, during which the team held discussions with MMRS’s Managing Director, Reginald Daniel Laryea, on the way forward.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was attended by the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Ato Afful, and a consultant to MMRS, Clarence Nartey.

Briefing

Briefing the Daily Graphic later, Ms Bristow said the company wanted to support the country to create flagship products for which Ghana could claim ownership.

“There are incredible opportunities to create brands for export and we want to help create products of pride for the country which will have the nation’s voice when they enter the global market. We don’t want a situation where 10 years from now somebody in another country will be using moringa and marketing it all over the world when he or she has taken the resource from Ghana,” she said.

She advised local product producers to form cooperative groups to effect change of policies.

Quality brands

For his part, Mr Laryea said even though the initiative was good, it behoved the people to come up with top quality products.

“The under-sale of our products, goods and services should stop. We should learn here in Ghana to create our own super premium and luxury brands,” he said.

Mr Laryea, who is also the Board Chairman of GOIL, said the country needed to establish a ‘house’ where products that met a certain premium quality criteria would qualify to be admitted, while the Ghana Standards Authority and the Food and Drugs Authority went ahead to ensure adherence to ISO metrics.