Pivotal to Brydens’ growth in recent years has been our thrust towards developing our downmarket distribution.  Tapping into a larger percentage of Trinidad’s universe of customers, our van distribution network sells food products and beverages directly to parlours, mom & pop shops, mini marts and convenience stores.  

Noticing the potential of this segment, Brydens adopted an aggressive strategy of ramping up the number of vehicles and geography covered.  Increased availability and visibility of our products serves as a springboard for our brands and demand continues to grow in spite of economic challenges.

The only challenge of the growth was our understanding of it.  The absence of information on the customers and their buying patterns was an indicator of the hidden potential here and the efficiencies that were not being tapped.  The introduction of the Beltek Mobile Sales System in September 2008 brought information to the forefront and allowed for informed decision making.  The system offers a fully automated wireless sales solution with GPS capabilities.  Since the implementation of the system the Company has benefitted from:

• Greater data analysis capabilities
• Timely and reliable deliveries
• Better time and route management helping increase distribution depth
• Better inventory control
• Heightened security through reduced cash receipts
• Quicker reconciliation process

The combined strategies of increased vehicles and sales automation have yielded significant results with the segment now constituting as much as 18% of the total sales attributable to the Food & Grocery division.