The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business

Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN rum producer yesterday said business is “definitely up” compared to pre-COVID levels and is predicting a “robust” 2023 performance.

Pepin Argamasilla, John Watling’s Distillery’s managing partner, told Tribune Business that commerce has never been better with the company shrugging off any lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. The distillery, located at the 1789 Buena Vista Estate in downtown Nassau, has returned to profitability through a customer base that features a “mix of tourists and locals”.

“I think there’s definitely a push in The Bahamas to begin to support local companies and to source local products,” Mr Argamasilla. “I think the big learning during COVID was that The Bahamas needed to be a little bit more self-reliant and be able to support local businesses. I think we’re experiencing that. I think a lot of other companies like us are experiencing the same thing, so it’s nice to see that people are actively buying Bahamian.

“We’re getting a lot of tourism coming up from the tour companies. We’re free to the public and also to the tour companies. They’re doing a great job bringing people up, and so are the taxi cabs and all the different exciting tours that have popped up after the pandemic.”

COVID-19 forced John Watling’s to diversify into producing hand sanitizer, which it still does - albeit on a smaller scale because it is not part of their core business model. The wedding market, which the company also caters to, has picked back up since The Bahamas re-opened to tourists and COVID-19 protocols were removed for all gatherings.

Mr Argamasilla added: “That’s still probably on par with what we were doing prior to COVID. It’s a big part of the business but, again, it’s not our major focus because at the end of the day it’s about John Watling’s rum to the local market and to the tourists that visit the island.”

John Watling’s also started a small export business during the pandemic but that, too, has been “scaled back” as it explores a different model to reach overseas markets.

Mr Argamasilla conceded that the post-COVID supply chain bottlenecks had proved challenging initially. He said: “We went through an initial hiccup at the beginning right after everything started opening up, where there was definitely some major delays, and that was more on the manufacturer side but, right now, everything seems to begin to normalise again.

“Our outlook for 2023 is, I think, that we’re heading into high season now, and I think it’s going to be a robust high season. I’m interested to see what the new port does to tourism. But fingers are crossed. I think, after COVID, I think I’m a little skittish in making any projections just because you never know what’s going to happen in this world.”