Creamery Novelties Limited, known for its ice creams, has been celebrated for its ability to penetrate export markets.
Their factory in Diego Martin was the latest stop by Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon, as she toured manufacturing companies.
On Tuesday, Creamery Novelties Limited, recipient of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturing Association’s Most Successful Market Entrant (Medium) 2023 Award, showcased the processes that go into producing their frozen treats.
In her fourth visit to manufacturing companies, Minister Gopee-Scoon commended Creamery Novelties on their notable efforts in satisfying foreign exchange needs and becoming a net foreign exchange earner.
“So in the six years, they have really grown tremendously, and we’ve seen the numbers. I remember the first year you only exported about a hundred thousand US. I won’t tell you the figure now, but it’s grown more than a thousand percent. So as he said, thirty-five percent of their manufactured goods go to exports, and those are the kinds of numbers we like to hear.”
Speaking on some of the challenges that come with sourcing the ingredients to make their products, HADCO’s Group Co-Chief Executive Officer, John Hadad, said that a different approach should be taken.
“Most of our packing comes from the local market, so we work with local manufacturers to source probably, I would say, seventy-five to eighty percent of all the packaging usage. That tells you that, you know, sometimes you ask yourself what needs to be done. But what needs to be done is Creamery needs to grow and create a demand for some of these raw materials, and hopefully, through free market enterprise, someone might step in and say, ‘how do I produce this raw material that is used by so many others?'”
With the market for the sale of ice creams already oversaturated locally, Shareholder and Director of Creamery Novelties, Paul Gabriel, said the company is focused on the export market with the introduction of their yoghurt product that was launched last year.
“I think we were happy with the product that we brought to market, where we are growing our market share every day, and now we are in the process of getting certification for export. So this year, we are going to start exporting, hopefully in the first half of this year, exporting yoghurts into the markets.”
Occupying shelves in twelve countries across the Caribbean region, Creamery Novelties aims to continue growing and extending the efforts of promoting regional and international exchange of goods.