Tesco introduces a Custard Spread to it's Line of Spreads – Why GraceKennedy's Hi-Lo Supermarkets need to look Beyond Jams and Peanut Butter

We all have a sweet tooth, despite the fact that consuming sugar isn’t good for you generally.

Take a look at this documentary on Sugar before you read on. It suggests that Sugar is not only responsible for Diabetes, Stroke, Heart and Liver disease but may have some connection to the onset of Dementia i.e. Alzheimer’s.

Still, this bit of news for the British has me very excited and wishing it was here in Jamaica. I’m of course referring to Tesco’s new Custard Spread as reported in the article “Is Tesco's new custard cream biscuit spread genius or madness?”, published 31 Oct 2014 4:51PM by Leah Hyslop, The UK Telegraph.

I personally I think it’s simply lovely, being as I myself often buy Associated Brands Industries Limited’s Devon Custard Biscuit just so that I lick out the Custard Cream inside. I just had to write about it as I wish Hi-Lo did something like this in Jamaica.

The Devon line of biscuits is one of four (4) family of products that Associated Brands Industries Limited makes including:

1.      The Chocolate Family i.e. Charles Chocolate, etc.

2.      The Biscuit Family i.e. Devon, etc

3.      The Snack Family i.e. Sunshine snacks, etc

4.      The Cereal Family i.e. Universal Foods Limited, etc

Tesco’s Custard Spread – Why Hi-Lo Supermarkets need to look Beyond Jams and Peanut Butter spreads

Understandably the British, who are very rigid in their outlook on life and thing having its place, are not all thrilled at this development. After all, it’s a filling; it’s not like Jam or peanut butter, American imports that the British have accepted over time and we Jamaicans love.

But I’m one of those who sighs, “finally, someone though of making those filings available in a bottle I can purchase”. I for one always stock up on Eve’s Guava Jam which costs around JA$250 at Hi-Lo, my favorite supermarket in Cross Roads and goes well with Cream Crackers.

Tesco’s range of spreads already includes the following:

1.      Cookies and Cream Spread

2.      Bourbon Spread i.e. the same Bourbon in Devon Bourbon Biscuits

3.      Cookie Spread

4.      Custard Spread

So since Hi-Lo Supermarkets already makes Branded Products and Associated Brands Industries Limited make products that have Custard Cream, wouldn’t it be nice if they partnered to offer Custard Cream and other fillings in a jar? 

Call it Hi-Lo Fillings with a similar variety of filling found only in Biscuits which most adult Jamaicans i.e. Millennials (ages 18 to 28) and Generation X (ages 29 to 45), despite their claim that it’s for children, like to eat these fillings under the quiet.

Thoughts for the owner of the Hi-Lo chain to ponder.

That owner, Grace Kennedy, is currently in the process of undertaking some US$8 million worth of renovation work on their 14 stores islandwide with the help of American supplier of supermarket equiptment Supermarket Source  as noted in the article “Hi-Lo pumps US$8m into supermarket redesign”, published Wednesday, February 26, 2014 BY VERNON DAVIDSON Executive editor — publications, The Jamaica Observer.

It would be great if as a part of this upgrade, they also introduced a new line of products, with these spreads from Tesco being a great adaptation to the Spreads and Jams section in the supermarket, as this product will be a hit!