Carib beer is recognized throughout the Caribbean and the diaspora for its iconic gold and blue bottle, which symbolizes the Caribbean sunshine and sea, the nostalgic branding intentional. According to Carib Brewery USA’s outgoing President and CEO, James Webb, “If you can’t make it to the Caribbean, we’ll bring the Caribbean to you.”
The sentiment affirms the brewery’s commitment to positively impacting the diaspora and the rest of the world.
“So much of our population has migrated from the Caribbean region, and they long for those products that bring them back to home. One of the biggest initiatives for us is to mine that Caribbean pride, and use that brand that we so dearly represent to connect with the diaspora,” says marketing director, Asa Sealy.
Though 2022 is a milestone year for the company, last year Carib Brewery USA made news for other noteworthy achievements.
In October 2021, the company thrust itself into the international spotlight with the release of a song called “Can You Feel It” featuring Toronto-based Trinbagonian singer, songwriter and producer, Kerwin Du Bois alongside Jamaican music sensation, Shenseea, who signed on as a Carib beer brand ambassador earlier that year. The song’s music video included a notable intro and outro cameo from superstar American DJ and producer, DJ Khaled.
Sealy explained that the song and video are part of the company’s international marketing push, which seeks to invigorate and inspire regional pride.
“We wanted to use this opportunity to inject a measure of national and regional pride throughout the diaspora, and to bring the region together under the common umbrellas of our cultural exports, expertise and excellence,” he explained, after the video’s launch in October.
A month earlier, in September 2021, the company announced that in June the Florida Beer Company had changed its name to Carib Brewery USA. The move reflects Carib Brewery’s growing international success and strong brand equity. With this acquisition, Carib Brewery USA moved its operations to Space Coast, Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it also opened the 321 Lime House taproom where it offers the local community a taste of Caribbean hospitality.
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg for Carib Brewery USA. The company has a rich history and is a true Caribbean success story.
Carib breweries have operated in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis since the 1950s and ‘60s. In 2016, Trinidad-based ANSA McAL, an iconic corporate group that comprises 48 companies in over 8 territories, purchased the brewery.
In the coming years, the company has plans to acquire breweries in other parts of the world, and open many editions of its taproom model in other zip codes where Carib has holdings.
Carib beer is well known in the Caribbean islands, but the company’s current goal is for beer drinkers who now live in Florida and other parts of the United States to see the Carib Brewery logo and will feel like they can pick up a six-pack that reminds them of home.
Carib Brewery’s Cape Canaveral location produces about 600,000 cases a year, and the company’s beer brands include Caribe, Giant Leap, Key West, Swamp Ape, and Hurricane Reef. The brewery, which has been described as an innovation hub where people can schedule a tour and get an exclusive taste of the Caribbean, also produces the butterbeer served at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios and the Isla Nublar at the Jurassic World attraction.
As of September 1, 2022, Carib Brewery USA will be led by incoming President/CEO, Malissa Sylvester, who is taking the baton from James Webb.
