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Tortuga Rum Company Had Record-Breaking Holiday Season 2000
Under a worker's watchful eye, the popular Tortuga RumCakes are packaged and ready for markets around the world.
The final year 2000 figures for TortugaRum Company Ltd. are in and show that the company celebrated 16years in business with a record-breaking holiday season.
In fact, during the week of 4 December, the Grand Cayman companyshipped its largest single total export volume ever of TortugaRum Cakes: 20,215 cakes. This was part of the overall holidayseason total of 87,700 export rum cakes and 188,350 rum cakesproduced for the local and tourist market, a staggering totalof 276,050 cakes, all freshly baked in Tortuga's Grand Caymanbakeries.
The huge demand for cakes prompted Tortuga to add a third bakery,now under construction and scheduled to open in March 2001.
Last year, holiday orders began pouring in during August - literallyfrom around the world, including Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa,Germany, England and New Zealand. Both bakeries worked at peakproduction to fill unprecedented worldwide demand for TortugaRum Cake gift orders. Cayman's largest exporter enjoyed its busiestChristmas since the product was launched in October 1987.
Each week year-round, Tortuga Rum Company ships refrigerated containersfull of Tortuga Rum Cakes via Seaboard Marine, to the company'sMiami office, Tortuga Imports. That facility processes internationalmail order requests for Tortuga Rum Cakes and other Tortuga gourmetproducts, and ships via Federal Express to ensure prompt delivery.
Tortuga's Grand Cayman bakeries produce as many as 5000 - 6000Tortuga Rum Cakes daily to meet both international and local demand.Both Tortuga's Airport Industrial Park and West Bay locationsare popular tourist attractions, especially for cruise ship passengerswho buy thousands of souvenir Tortuga Rum Cakes each week.
The runaway success of Cayman's original rum cake and growingpopularity of Tortuga's gourmet private label products is no accident.It is the result of the company's reputation for consistent qualityand a constantly updated, aggressive marketing plan. Tortuga'sintegrated marketing strategy includes ongoing media targeting;appearances at international trade shows such as the San Franciscoand New York International Fancy Food Shows; direct mail and growinguse of E-commerce.
Last year, the Tortuga Rum Cake was featured on US cable TV'spopular Home Shopping Network. It was the first Caribbean foodproduct ever selected. In July 2000, the cake was selected asone of last year's hottest gourmet products --from among thousands-- by USA's culinary trend-watcher, Phil Lempert during a liveMSNBC-TV broadcast from the prestigious 46th International FancyFood and Confection Show in New York.
Mr. Lempert, the 'Supermarket Guru' and NBC/ MSNBC food correspondent,reaches a national audience of millions through his syndicatednewspaper columns and weekly WOR Network radio show.
A colour travel feature in the 9 December, Toronto Star, entitled'Get your cake, and eat it too, on Grand Cayman' highlighted theproduct as "the island's number one export." This combinedpublicity helped create an unprecedented demand for all five varietiesof Tortuga Rum Cake, keeping Grand Cayman and Miami staff workingaround-the-clock to fill holiday orders.
Tortuga Rum Company Ltd. was one of the first Cayman companiesto recognise the importance of E-commerce and use of the Internethas increased sales tremendously. Their website, ww.tortugarums.com,has become a powerful sales tool, generating hundreds of new ordersevery week. In addition, the Tortuga Rum Cake is featuring onmore than 100 other gourmet food and gift websites and many gourmetfood catalogues.
The company achieved another marketing coup last year when theTortuga Rum Cake was featured as one of only three gourmet fooditems in The Coconut Telegraph, the official holiday gift catalogueof Jimmy Buffett's Magaritaville empire.
Today, the Tortuga Rum Cake is Cayman's number one export souvenirproduct. Publications, including Caribbean Travel & Life,the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel and Travel Weekly, the leadingNorth American travel industry news magazine, have featured articlesabout the Tortuga Rum Cake. Travel Weekly called it "a popularCayman tourist attraction, along with Seven Mile Beach, wall diving,Stingray City and the Cayman Turtle Farm."
Tortuga Rum Company Ltd. has grown dramatically since it was startedin 1984. The following year, owners Robert and Carlene Hamatyintroduced Cayman's first private label rums: Tortuga Gold andTortuga Light. The Tortuga Rum Cake was launched in October 1987,and is now available in five varieties: original golden, richchocolate, coconut, banana and exotic Blue Mountain Coffee.
Today, the family-owned and operated company is the largest dutyfree liquor business in the Cayman Islands, with 17 Grand Caymanlocations. The Tortuga Rum Company label has grown to include11 high quality registered blends, led by its Premium Label 12-YearOld Tortuga Rum for true connoisseurs. Others include TortugaLight, Gold, Dark, 151 Proof, Rum Cream Liqueur, Rum Liqueur,Coconut, Banana, and Spiced Rums and Tortuga Coffee Liqueur.
Tortuga's South Miami office, Tortuga Imports Inc. occupies 4500square feet and has a state-of-the-art computer system to handlethe growing volume of business. Established in 1997, the US operationnow has ten employees headed by International Sales & MarketingDirector, Mrs. Monique Hamaty-Simmonds.
The US office is critical to facilitating international marketingand distribution of Tortuga Rum Cakes and the entire Tortuga gourmetproduct line. Tortuga products are now carried throughout theUS in retail specialty food stores, restaurants and in major cruiselines' onboard gift shops. During the past year, Tortuga Rum cakesand other products have also become popular gourmet gift basketitems, especially in South Florida.
The name Tortuga is a registered trademark in the US, UK and BritishCommonwealth countries and known internationally as one of thepioneers of the Caribbean's gourmet food industry.
In addition to its fine rums and Tortuga Rum Cakes, Tortuga hasdeveloped a growing line of private label gourmet products: TortugaOld Cayman Rum Plum Pudding; five varieties of premium blendedcoffee (including three Tortuga Rum Flavored Coffees); two kindsof wildflower honey; Tortuga Rum Bar-B-Que Sauce; three varietiesof Tortuga Rum Flavored gourmet chocolate fudge; Tortuga GourmetSteak Sauce; Tortuga Jerk Sauce; Tortuga Gourmet Pepper Jelly:Tortuga Hell-Fire Hot Pepper Sauce; chocolate rum mints; TortugaChocolate Rum Hazelnut Truffles, Tortuga Caribbean Rum Punch Mixand Tortuga flavored bar syrups.
Tortuga's New Products
In December 2000, Tortuga introduced two exclusive new productswhich proved popular gift items and are now available year-round.
Tortuga Old Cayman Rum Plum Pudding may be even better than anyWest Indian grandmother's secret recipe This traditional rich,rum-soaked Caribbean confection comes in 20 ounce and 12.8 ouncesizes. While always popular during the holidays, this Caribbeansweet is a delicious year-round addition to any dessert tray andthe perfect hostess gift to bring to any holiday dinner party.
Tortuga Rum Fever and Caribbean Party Cookbook was called "recommendedreading and an ideal Christmas gift" by the Toronto Star,and proved a hot selling item for Cayman residents and visitorsduring the holidays.
It's the perfect souvenir or gift for anyone interested in WesternCaribbean cooking, rum lore and Caribbean culinary history. Writtenby Grand Cayman author, Barbara Currie Dailey, the 304-page bookis a celebration of rum in Caribbean food and drink, with over400 rum-spiked and Caribbean-spiced recipes.
Tortuga rums and Tortuga gourmet products are used in almost allrecipes. The book is now available at all Tortuga retail and dutyfree outlets, including the airport departure lounge, and storesthroughout Grand Cayman.