Business View Caribbean | Volume 8, Issue 7

53 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 8, ISSUE 7 BARBADOS I CE CREAM COMPANY L IMI TED (B I CO) was destroyed by fire, forcing the company to outsource production to Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Canada and the Dominican Republic. Later, Suriname became the only source of supply, as the company streamlined the business again to make sure that the brand remains strong. The great news is that BICO is now manufacturing in Barbados again. That was just one of the many challenges the company has faced over the years. Another challenge was going through the skills transition for their workers and navigating all the natural changes in the market over that time. In addition to the product diversification and growth throughout the company’s life. BICO has also realigned the business strategy to become a company associated with sustainability and a serious focus on corporate responsibility. To the extent that the company fleet is largely comprised of electric vehicles and more than 10 percent of BICO’s current consumption of energy is driven by solar panels solving people’s psychological and social needs. I use the example: if a child falls and is on the verge of getting up off the ground and about to cry, and you use the word “ice cream”– the entire mood of that child changes. That’s how impactful we are. Today, we have ice creams that suit all occasions – baby showers, weddings, new relationships, social events – ice cream is a staple.” Which begs the question – is one flavor more psychologically helpful than another depending on the situation? According to Stuart, “There are correlations by flavors. However, having said that, there are still things like personal preference associated with different flavors. For example, one person’s go-to of vanilla as a soothing engagement might turn out to be a caramel-flavored one for someone else. A lot of it is attuned to things like cultural preferences, palate acclimatization, all of those nuances.” In August 2009, the original BICO factory