Fraser Fontaine & Kong tops 70 firms to win Corporate Wellness Challenge

Fraser Fontaine & Kong walked away with top honours at the Jamaica Moves Corporate Wellness Challenge 8x8 Edition. The winners were announced at an awards brunch held on Saturday after months of competitive wellness activities aimed at promoting healthier workplaces and lifestyles across Jamaica.

The Forestry Department secured second place, while Seprod Group placed third overall.

More than 70 public and private companies across the island participated in the initiative, which was organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness through the Health Promotion and Education Unit to encourage healthier workplace practices and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The eight-month challenge featured wellness-focused activities designed to promote physical activity, healthy eating, teamwork and health awareness among employees. Activities included road races, nature hikes, park runs, obstacle courses, healthy recipe and corporate cook-off competitions, health education quizzes, workplace workout sessions, health screenings and wellness awareness initiatives.

State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Krystal Lee, who delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, commended the participating organisations for prioritising employee wellness and creating healthier workplace cultures.

“This challenge demonstrated that workplace wellness is not just about physical activity, but about building healthier habits, stronger teams, and healthier communities. We are proud of every organisation that accepted the challenge and invested in the well-being of their staff,” Lee said.

Lee also noted that the ministry is leading by example by implementing several wellness initiatives across the public health system.

“The Ministry of Health and Wellness has already instructed our health facilities and offices to adhere to the policies we have established, including the Nutrition Policy, by removing sugary drinks from our health facilities. We are also encouraging healthier lifestyles among our 23,000 healthcare workers through nutritious meals, workout sessions, jogging trails, and mental and psychosocial support,” she stated.

The competition was organised by the ministry through the Jamaica Moves programme and the Health Promotion and Education Unit. It was designed to address the key risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

Meanwhile, an employee from Fraser Fontaine & Kong, Elizabeth Alexander, expressed gratitude on behalf of the company.

“When we saw it [the competition] … we said this is a no-brainer, because we’ve already been doing those stuff except for the quiz. The competition spirit in the office was geared up, and we were ready to go. In addition to us really being wellness people/workers, we also engage our clients, because we have an online wellness platform,” she stated.

As part of the prizes, the winning team also received healthy snacks valued at $500,000, 10 standing desks, five fully automatic desk converters, framed health posters and 10 Industrial Gases Limited (IGL) gas vouchers.