BARBADIANS STILL love their Banks products despite the company’s change in ownership.
Manager of corporate affairs at Banks Holdings Limited (BHL), Sophia Cambridge (below), said the company had strong sales across the group’s portfolio of products this Christmas. 
“Overall, we are certainly trending above 2015 for the month of December. We’ve seen a four per cent increase in sales across the board, driven predominantly by our beer brands Banks and Deputy,” she explained.
“Our brewed non-alcoholic offerings have also seen strong sales, particularly Plus and Tiger Malt. The addition of Vita Malt to our portfolio, through our new parent company AB InBev, has made us the runaway market leader in the Malt category and we are happy with the brand’s performance thus far,” she said.
She added that sales of 50th anniversary-branded beverages had also driven the soft drink and juice categories up as much as 15 per cent in some cases.
Cambridge attributed the 2016 increase in beverage sales to a spike in visitor arrivals in the latter part of the year.
“Visitors to our shores recognise Banks as the authentic beer of Barbados and our sales have also been buoyed by a carry-over from Independence, where we saw an influx in returning nationals.” (AD)
