Since 1999 the Mckenzie ‘clan’ has piloted a family company called Sun Crest Farms Inc., through a local business climate that can throw challenges with metronomic regularity. Despite obstacles, the enterprise has grown continuously, reaching a point where, today, it offers goods and services ranging from its Rainforest Honey and a range of freshly milled fruit juices and baked flour. from vegetables and ground provision, to landscaping services turn out stunning hand-held real estate expanses.
If it is not entirely customary for local enterprises to undertake the level of diversification that Sun Crest Farms has had, then that diversification has been strategically decisive in bringing the company to fruition its current level of growth.
Designated company spokeswoman Juanette McKenzie possesses a business woman who can sell tropical clothing in the midst of a snowstorm – her expression of the executive modus she finds at Sun Crest Farms, reflecting an understanding of the company Stunning in its rigor.
As one of three members of the Sun Crest Board of Directors (there is no designated CEO), she holds a job of unrivaled influence among siblings and other family members with skills in all of the various disciplines necessary to run a business of Sun complexity. Crest Farms. He admits, however, that a long-held culture of respect for antiquity continues to anchor the younger ‘guns’ to the family’s patriarch, her father, Jocelyn McKenzie. One gets the impression that his specific role is usually to bring finality to such business transactions underpinned by lengthy exchanges, even if there are restrictions, which may be driven by strong differences of opinion.
Sun Crest started with a farming enterprise that today includes a total of about 60 acres of land cultivated with one crop or another in West Canje, Berbice. Its growth stems from what Juanette says has been an unwavering commitment to ‘putting our heads together’.
Diversification in the farming sector can become relatively easy when enlightened minds are applied to growth and expansion, and so, says Juanette, has been with the Sun Crest brand. Some of the considerations that found their way into Sun Crest’s operations were the synergies gained from decisions that took into account the nature of the business in which they had invested its resources and talents. They learned not only to align their operations to grow in line with what was happening in the wider agricultural sector and the different markets they served, but also to enter into collaborative arrangements with others in the sector who could bring them to win. As agro-processors they took advantage of the seasonal nature of the fresh fruit industry to grow their own range of fruit juices and subsequently, to turn these into tasty and popular drinks.
Meanwhile, their Rainforest Honey realized its ever-expanding demand through strategic marketing that saw the product take its place in impressive displays at well-attended local product exhibitions.
Continued growth and a better understanding of the vicinity of the market have enhanced their awareness of the importance of turning out customer-friendly products, a trend that has caused them to pay equal attention to product quality as they do to product delivery.
There is a distinct pride that resonates in Juanette’s tone when talking about the relationships that Sun Crest has cemented over the years with farmers as well as distributors of their various products and services.
Perhaps the most poignant manifestation of multimodality is in the range of services displayed in its agricultural landscaping and consulting services. Juanette says the company has specialized skills in commercial and residential landscaping solutions including preparing and maintaining family gardens. “Our complete landscaping services,” he said, “include ongoing landscaping maintenance services and lawn care as well as major installation projects in specialized areas that include hardware, outdoor lighting, irrigation systems, erosion control, and drainage systems. . ”
The growth of the initiative, says Juanette, has largely been a function of strategic partnerships with other companies that allow for the best possible results for all parties. She believes that in the given climate, partnerships are the “best way to go.” Here, she also recognizes the long-standing partnership that Sun Crest Farms has enjoyed with the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), among other agencies, in their support for the marketing of Sun Crest products.
In March last year, due to the madness that covered much of the business sector, Sun Crest closed a short in March.
However, the company was not about to be forced out of business by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We decided to publish our own safety manual, put the security measures in place and then reopen. When the Food and the Drugs [Government Analyst Food and Drug Department] they visited our operations in November they gave us a completely clean bill of health after a thorough walk, ”said Juanette, who is understandably proud.