our story
Great quality. Great value. Great products. Uncompromising commitment to excellence has been the defining standard of the East Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC) since it first opened as the St. Vincent Flour Mill in 1977.
The Vision
The storied history of the “Mill of the Islands” begins with the vision and passion of local entrepreneur Phillip Viera (later Sir Philip) who dreamt of establishing not only a flour mill in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but the best flour in the region. From the seed of that vision grew a partnership with local businessman Rudolph Baynes, the agent for the Canadian Company Maple Leaf Mills. Mr. Baynes proposed a partnership between Maple Leaf Mills, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Sir Phillip.
Sir Phillip believed in his vision that to produce the best flour in the region, then the best wheat was required. Though times have changed, the company’s commitment to this founding vision has not. The ECGC produces several varieties of the finest quality flour, which have become consumer favourites, including white flour, whole-wheat flour, patent flour for the fast food industry and specialty flours such as Multigrain, Herb & Garlic, Rye and Pumpernickel.
EXPANSION
This vision fuelled expansive growth in the next decade. In 1981, the packaging plant was established to meet the demand for 100-lb bags, which was followed shortly by the development of a mill-feed in 1982 to process the increased by-product from the flour mill. The move from wheat to rice milling became a reality with the formation of the East Caribbean Rice Mills in 1988, and later that year the East Caribbean Group of Companies was launched as the umbrella body for its operations. In 1990, Caricom Rice Mill in Guyana became the newest entity of ECGC.
The company spent the next two decades consolidating its business and in 2014, ECGC entered into the beverage market with its acquisition of Bottlers, St. Vincent Ltd., makers of carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks and bottled water, increasing the number of ECGC subsidiaries to six.
East Caribbean Flour Mills – 1977 | East Caribbean Packaging – 1981 | East Caribbean Feeds – 1982 East Caribbean Rice Mill – 1988 | Caricom Rice Mills – 1990 |East Caribbean Bottlers Inc – 2014
Today, ECGC has positioned itself as one of the leading innovators and manufacturers in the Caribbean region and currently exports to most of the islands from Jamaica in the North, to Trinidad in the South from its fully integrated location at Campden Park Bay.
Future Direction
Our product lines may have diversified, but our commitment to quality remain intact. ECGC produces some of the best-loved and known brands like our premium line of flours: Cream of the Islands, Nelson and Carigold, Easy Bake, Purity and Carigold; first-rate rice brands: Three Jewels, Carib Pearl, Natural Diamond, Carib Diamond, CariGold and Caricom Pride. We pride ourselves on producing a wide variety of top quality animal feeds to meet the needs of the famers in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Our flavourful Ju-C brand, a carbonated soft drink that is loved by Vincentians at home and abroad, along with bottled water and the well-reputed energy drink, Village Ram.
From a single flour mill in 1977, ECGC now employs 160 persons and continues to invest in its human capital and within the community through sports, education and youth engagement. ECGC remains committed to putting people first, offering high quality products and delivering exceptional levels of excellence through team-work.