Ever since 1973 Gopaul and Company Limited have been writing the book on agricultural products in Trinidad and Tobago. With its genesis in coconut oil and honey, under the Eastern Brand Label, it has diversified into a much wider range of manufactured factors to suit both local and regional tastes. Located at Lotsa 5A and 5B Macoya Industrial Estate in Trinidad the company was founded by Mr and Mrs Cyril Gopaul and the family business has passed hands over to the current Chief Executive Owner Donald Gopaul.

WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

THE BRAND EVERYONE REMEMBERS

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GOPAUL AND COMPANY LTD

001 868 662 4209 WWW.GCLTT.COM

The encapsulating vision of GCL beyond the local market is to turn the company into an important player in the branded packaging of food and household product

categories and it is in the position to achieve this end thanks to the high quality products that it distributes and markets. Furthermore, over the next couple of years their intention is to consolidate all of its operations across more than eleven countries where it operates and expand into other Caribbean markets outside of Caricom.

Currently, GCL operates solely through business representatives in the countries where their brands enjoy a strong market share in such places as Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Suriname.

After thirty years leading the distribution of food items through Trinidad and Tobago, GCL has earned its reputation by providing the full range of food products from the basic food items to particulars for individual tastes. Commodities including, flour, edible oils, rice, condiments, sauces, Bay Rum and household products such as powdered detergent and toilet paper have become the mainstays of their offering and have made them a household name for housewives and home makers alike.

Accordingly, the strength and value of their branded products comes from the suppliers that have been carefully selected to work alongside them such companies as The National Flour Mills Ltd., CGA Ltd., Lever Brothers West Indies Ltd., International Cosmetics

Trinidad Marketing & Distributing Coextends

CONGRATULATIONSto

GOPAUL & COMPANY LIMITEDon their growth and development over the years &

BEST WISHESfor their continued success

Quality Products ◆ Dedicated and efficient serviceGoodwill always ◆ Total Integrity

Distributors of industrial cleaning chemicals, pharmaceuticals, disposable latex and nitrile products, media tapes and the Skyline

range of LED decorative products

Associate - Skyline Technology Limited

34 Angelina Street, St James, Port of Spain, Trinidad, W.I,Telephone: 868 622 0524, 868 622 9017

Email: tmdc34@yahoo.com

GOPAUL AND COMPANY LTD

Answering the call to be a one stop shop to the islands food requirements Gopaul and Company LTD (GCL) now includes three main divisions of the oils and foods division, company trucking division and the sugar division. These three divisions are managed respectively by Donald Gopaul the CEO of the Oil and Foods and Sugar divisions and Ralph Gopaul the managing director of the trucking division. With three hundred employees across all their divisions a united vision is very important and this has been carefully implemented to ensure a sustainable approach to their activities.

Ltd., and regionally and extra-regionally, Roses Paper Products Ltd., Van Gelder, and Tradis Inc. to name just a few.

Due to the demand of their products and the strength of their name, GCL is besieged by requests to partner with manufacturers across the company and this has put the company in an enviable position of being able to be as picky as they choose when it comes to who they align themselves with. As such new manufacturing partnerships are taken few and far between and the chosen companies are those that are not only the ones with the highest standards and reputations but more important the potential to add something to Gopaul’s services. Following the old business rule of only working with someone who will make you better than you were.

The Trucking Division of GCL, is comprised of a fleet of over one hundred vehicles and possesses its own fuel depot and maintenance facilities. Providing a far wider offering than just for the food industry they are involved in providing essential sanitation and waste disposal services along the East West Corridor under contract for the government of Trinidad and Tobago. This is additional to the container haulage and general transport for private customers. Located in Tunapuna the company is operated by separate management and operational staff and provide an addition arm for the already substantial Gopaul offering.

When it comes to delivery, Gopaul prides themselves on their same day delivery. Timely, efficient and careful delivery of products have become one of the characteristics of their services.

The company prides itself on an aggressive sales, merchandising and promotional team whose responsibility it is to ensure that all of the company’s products are available in the relevant trade channels such as supermarkets, small Shops, wholesalers, restaurants, bakeries and hotels throughout Trinidad and Tobago. They are the ambassadors of the brand, responsible for developing the long term relationships that have become as valuable as gold for the past three decades.

GCL’S sales team consists of eight professionally trained and highly experienced individuals and the company’s customers, ranging from Hi-Lo Foods Stores and Price Smart to the smallest retail outlet, are assured of regular visits from their professional and dedicated staff, who understand that the survival of the company relies on the growth and developments of their clients.

Working with the sales team GCL also has eight merchandisers and fifteen promoters, the latter who work on a parttime basis. Altogether this group of tech-savvy individuals form the front line of their business, interacting with storeowners, managers and shoppers

to ensure that everyone, customers and consumers alike are pleased with the services and products. They are the voice of the brand and the face of the business. After so many years in business Donald has learnt the importance of listening to all feedback but paying particularly attention to negative feedback because it is only by learning from mistakes that things can improve.

With this in mind, GCL works closely with its principles to ensure that marketing, sales and aftersales objectives are all met. As they are a brand, all their plans are usually developed in conjunction with each other and executed by an advertising

agency. It takes time to build a brand and as an example, many years ago GCL made the decision to take over the distribution of Lotus Soya Bean Oil. At the time the product had a market share of less than 1% but thanks to GCL when they took over the market share rose sharply to 12%. In such a competitively driven commodity market, this was a significant climb and proved once and for all that GCL were the standard setters of this industry.

GO PAUL AND COMPANY LTD

V&S Pharmaceuticals Ltd.