Takamaka Bay is a company producing premium rum sold extensively throughout the
Seychelles islands to the retail, duty-free and hotel markets. It started operation in April 2002
in a small premises at Providence with 3 staff members. Over the next 4 years, the business
has steadily improved all facets of its operation, from the distillery process to bottling,
distribution and marketing. The company is now employing 7 full-time staff based at Takamaka
and 3 in its sister company.
Below is a Seychelles Investment Bureau (SIB) interview with
Mr. Richard d'Offay,
owner of the
Takamaka Bay company.
SIB: When did you start exporting your products and to where? What are
the challenges you faced when it comes to exporting?
RD: Our first export venture was to the Preston's group in South
Africa at the end of 2004. We exported Takamaka Rum as a
finished product that retailed in selected stores in SA. The
challenges one faces when exporting is very different to the ones
that we face locally, because simply, the competition is greater.
The challenges are not whether Takamaka Rum is good enough in
terms of quality but rather, how to best make your product
visible and attractive to a potential market. This is what we
found to be the most challenging part of our experience in SA.
SIB: What led you to venture into the export business?
RD: In our case, exports were the logical next step to growing
our business. Daily, we used to get requests for Takamaka Rum to
be sent out to South Africa, England or France so we knew that
we had potential export customers. Also, in a relatively small
market like Seychelles it is quite easy to reach a saturation
point, quite quickly. The potential demand for Takamaka Bay in a
massive market like Germany, for instance, makes exports a very
attractive option when looking at ways to expand. The ability to
earn foreign exchange is also important as this would make
Takamaka Bay in Seychelles a much stronger business. Takamaka
Rum as a net Foreign exchange earner would be able to expand
and improve the Takamaka brand at a much quicker rate than if
we were not exporting. Lastly what I really like about export is
that it forces companies to become better all the time, thereby
improving the quality and standard of products sold locally.
SIB: In terms of an export business, would you describe your business as a failure or
a success story?
RD: I wouldn't describe it as failure or as a success but rather as
a success story still in progress. To be successful in exports takes
a long time with many up's and down's. There are many factors
which can determine whether you are successful or not and
many of these factors are out of your control. Exchange rate
fluctuation, as an example, could make your product well priced
today and expensive tomorrow depending on the fluctuation.
Experience in the export market is crucially important when it
comes to being successful in the long term as one is much more
aware of the pitfalls which can sink a deal. It is also important to
remember that it takes many years for a product to cement itself
in a given market, the consistency of supply, quality and price
are all factors which must be there before a product can be
considered a success story, At Takamaka Rum, I am extremely
confident that we are on the right track of realising our goal of
putting Seychelles’ No.1 Rum on the world stage for keeps!
SIB: In your views, do you think that the Government is doing enough to help businesses
the export sector?
RD: I believe that the government has a role to play in terms of
creating a climate that is conducive to exports. If, as an
example, the trade agreements between Seychelles and the EU
are beneficial for EU Countries to import Rum from Seychelles
then it makes our job of securing a lasting contract with a
distributor that much easier. However, it is still up to the
individual exporters to ensure that their products are good
enough for export, that pricing structures are up to scratch and
that they are able to produce in sufficient quantities to satisfy
the demand. I am also hoping to see further incentives for
exporters which help to reduce the costs of setting up an export
operation, this can also go a long way to ensuring that the price
of goods being exported from Seychelles are competitive.
SIB: What are your future plans? Any plans of exporting your products to other markets?
RD: We have massive plans for the future, not only are we finalizing an export
contract with a major bottler in the EU but we are planning on expanding the
Takamaka Brand in a new direction. I don't want to give the game away yet so
I'll provide details a little later.
SIB: What advice would you give to those interested in exporting their products/services?
RD: It is very important to have a distributor on the other side
that is as passionate about your business as you are. Without a
quality partner looking after the interests of your company off-
shore, it'll always be difficult to give the levels of service
required by export customers. You need to have a product that
has a demand overseas and also a product that is able to be
produced on a sustainable basis. I believe that you must be
successful locally before venturing into exports, in other words,
fine tune your product locally so that when you have to produce
more for export, it's just a question of producing more and
managing that as opposed to managing extra cash flow needs,
etc. Exports must be the logical next step in an expansion
process, I think that this step by step approach to exports
significantly increases the chances of successful long term.