(From left) Kevin Loughery, Marketing Manager for Foster’s Food Fair; Woody Foster, Managing Director of Foster’s Food Fair IGA; Shane Foster, Managing Director of Progressive Distributors Ltd., and Maureen Cubbon, Marketing and Brand Manager for Progressive Distributors Ltd.

Almost a year after being introduced to customers, the reusable shopping bags selling for 99 cents at Foster’s Food Fair outlets across Grand Cayman are still popular, according to Kevin Loughery, Marketing Manager for Foster’s.

“To date the store has sold close to 18,000 bags,” he told Cayman Net News.

“I have not done any market analysis on the bags. However they seem to be purchased consistently by both men and women, and the young and old. There is not one particular group in the community that stands out in their purchase and usage.

Mr Loughery added: “The purchase price of the 99-cents bag is basically our landed costs to island. However any money generated from the sale of the bags has been donated to environmental charities. For example, last year we donated $1,000 to the Chamber of Commerce’s Beach Cleanup Day.

“The overall reaction from our customers has been very positive. When we initially decided to move forward with the programme, we did a lot of research on the bags, trying to find a cost-effective bag that was easy to carry, load and pack as well as being high quality.

“The feedback we have received from customers is good and they continually mention their quality and cost effectiveness.”

Last November, the company partnered with Progressive Distributors, Johnson & Johnson and Tropicana to bring the environmentally friendly reusable bags to the island.

Foster’s was the first major supermarket in Cayman to initiate the programme, designed to help reduce the use and spread of plastic bags.

The green-coloured bags come with a white logo and can be used for multiple purposes. Designed after getting input from customers, engineers and designers, they can sit flat and can hold the same amount of weight as three to four traditional grocery bags.

At the time of their launch, Foster’s Managing Director Woody Foster told the media: “We are very excited about this new initiative in our stores. We recognise we can adopt new practices to make our company more environmentally friendly and this is the first step.

“The ability to offer our customers an environmentally sound alternative to the traditional plastic bag is one more way we can show we care.”