‘BICO can fill milk gap again’

BICO Limited is one of Barbados’ oldest companies with its origins dating back to 1901 when it was in the ice making business. The enterprise subsequently diversified by 1950 and has become synonymous with ice cream manufacturing.

With Barbados facing a milk shortage in recent times, BICO executive chairman Edwin Thirlwell explains how and why the company is seeking to fill the void in the supply of milk for consumers, the hotel sector and other entities. BICO previously did so on a short-term basis “in the 2000s”.

BICO is known for ice cream, what prompted the company to produce milk temporarily years ago?

The first time we did it was when they ran out of milk the last time years ago. So we stepped in then and we were criticised by the Barbados Agricultural Society and accused of taking bread out of the local dairy farmers’ mouth, so we then withdrew but of course I have still got the formula. I used to make milk in Antigua and I know how to do it.

So we just said we would fill the void and make it for Barbadians. When I was running the Antigua dairy years ago that was all they had – reconstituted milk. There were no cows in Antigua because it was too dry and there was not enough grass.

Dairying in the tropics is a risky business because cows get diseases. Also, can you imagine coming to Barbados on holiday with your four children and there is no milk in the hotel? That’s extremely embarrassing. Children drink milk, people use it for cereal, for cooking, baking and many other things.

Why are you producing milk again this time?

With the ongoing shortage we decided that it was necessary to step into the breach. As I recalled, the last time we did this, we were highly criticised and I said when the shortage was over that we would gracefully withdraw, which we did. But of course, when I came back to the island in January, I said, well, there is no milk again, and the whole island is embarrassed.

There is a shortage of milk and we can fill the gap. So I cranked up the machine, we produced labels, we bought bottles, we are producing milk and filling the gap that’s left by the Pine Hill Dairy’s challenges.

How are you able to produce milk while dairy industry challenges are ongoing?

It’s the same basis as ice cream. We buy spray dried full cream milk powder from New Zealand because in New Zealand they produce more milk than they can possibly use so they spray dry it and ship it all around the world, and it lasts a long time. Also, generally speaking, liquid milk is too expensive to use in manufacturing.

In various countries in Europe and in Canada and America they have dairy cartels where they put rules in place where you have to use fresh milk, because the farmers otherwise are up in arms.

Fresh milk is not subsidised in Barbados, but it is in most other places. Worldwide, farmers are struggling to make a living and dairy farmers here are also challenged.

Will this negatively impact your main line of business, which is manufacturing ice cream?

No, because the same equipment that makes the reconstituted milk also makes ice cream, and we use the same ingredients. So we have the ingredients, we have the equipment, we just do not have the filling capacity for bottles, but that is something that we are seeking to rectify now.

We are going to buy a filling machine, and we are going to actually buy a delivery truck to deliver the milk chilled. All of the staff are pulling together, they are all doing a marvelous job and we are just keeping the show on the road.

It gives us, obviously, another string to our bow and it is another thing we can do and keep everyone employed. It is a diversification effort that we know about, we have done it before.

Do you plan to continue producing milk for the market in the future or is this a short term initiative?

Everyone knows there is a crisis in the dairy industry, not just in Barbados but among dairy farmers worldwide. We will keep doing it because that is what the authorities are asking us to do given their concerns about the shortage.

Consumers will decide whether they want to buy it or not, that is the nature of competition. So, as I said earlier, we are looking to buy a refrigerated truck for chilling the milk because all of our fleet, of course, is for frozen ice cream.

So, we are having to buy a truck for chilling now because we cannot make enough milk to meet the demand. Whenever we deliver to the supermarkets or anywhere before you know it, it is gone, the demand is there.

We are selling milk to the hospital because otherwise what would they do with patients who have a diet that includes milk? We are also selling it to hotels and everywhere in between. We identified a need and we are filling it.

That is the golden rule of marketing, so as of now we are in it now for the longer term.