Growth & Jobs | JBDC improving product quality through market-readiness assessment

JANINE FLETCHER-TAYLOR, Marketing Services Unit manager at Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), says that the agency has observed that several producers are skipping the research aspect of product development to go straight to market. This “hit or miss” approach, she says, is dangerous.

“They [producers] are inventing and creating new products, but are not particularly engaging with the market to really determine if the product is something that the market is asking for,” she said. As a result, several products seeking to enter the local and international market are swinging below the “market-ready” standard.

In the last fiscal year ending March 2024, a total of 445 products were assessed by the JBDC. From this, about 176 new products advanced to market testing at a value of $4,918,284. Thirty-two clients were onboarded for market access through the JBDC’s Things Jamaican store, the largest retailer of Brand Jamaica in the world. From the 32 clients, an estimated 83 per cent registered validation. Validation proves that the product is being demanded by customers after it has gained market access.

“Market readiness goes beyond just the product. The emphasis cannot just be on getting the product right. As an entrepreneur, you are not just trying to put out products. Products by itself don’t make success. It doesn’t sustain itself,” Fletcher-Taylor stressed.

She continued, “But when an entrepreneur does a market-readiness assessment with JBDC, our team of marketing officers look at the complete business behind the product – If the product is successful, will you be able to build out a business behind it to sustainably earn from it? You have to figure out where you’re going to get the inputs to continuously make this product. The capacity that you have now is the maximum you can make if it takes off. So, you do market-readiness assessment to get into market.”

The market-ready assessment tool takes into account:

1) If the product meets regulatory requirements;

2) Its relevance to the market;

3) Its competitiveness;

4) Packaging and design;

and

5) Consumption and risk to consumers.

Products that score below 70 per cent are deemed unready for the market.

Fletcher-Taylor continued, “All of those things must be considered, not just ‘I have a great product’, which sometimes we fall in love with that concept. But we want to make sure that in addition to that, you are building a business that you can earn from. That’s it. So, we look for that business, the mindset of the person, the finishing of the product, the competitiveness of the product, and then we let the market speak back to us now on how to move forward.”

After the market-readiness assessment, market testing is done with the product before officially entering the marketplace. If products are found lacking, based on feedback, this is an opportunity to make corrections before going full-scale.

MSMEs interested in market-readiness assessments are encouraged to book an appointment at https://www.jbdc.net/services/marketing-services/.

The JBDC is the premier business development agency under the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce.