Dreamy Creamy

Barfi, Manzanilla Madness (coconut ice cream with bits of roasted peanuts and chocolate bits) and Chunky Fuh So (chocolate mixed with m&m’s, Oreos, chocolate syrup and chocolate chips) are the top three sellers on Dreamy Creamy’s “DC Signature” menu.

Long before the company opened its first outlet in 2010 at 143A Coffee Street, San Fernando (opposite KFC), the business plan for Dreamy Creamy included, at its core, the use of fresh, high quality ingredients to create ice creams with names that evoked memories of places and popular foods in Trinidad and Tobago (TT).

Business Day spoke with Dreamy Creamy’s Founder and Managing Director, Craig Smith, about his growing business which meets a previously unrecognised demand for ice cream flavours based on foods popular both in TT and across the Caribbean.

Seated in the company’s newest outlet in Gasparillo Mall, Bonne Aventure Road, Gasparillo, Smith recalled how his extended family’s “experience in the ice cream business” inspired his entrepreneurial dream.

“I grew up around ice cream and while my first business plan, created in 2005 while I was studying at Johnson and Wales University in Miami, was for a sports bar, I always knew I wanted to create and sell ‘Signature Flavour’ ice creams that (catered to) local tastes, using fresh ingredients rather than essence, and sourcing as much of them (ingredients) locally as possible to create a premium product.” After graduating from university and spending a few years working and travelling, in January 2009 Smith, with help from his brother Marc, began making ice cream in the Palmiste, San Fernando home of their father, Peter Smith. The company was formally established in late 2009 but it wasn’t until February 2010 that the Coffee Street outlet opened its doors.

Smith told Business Day he chose that location because “Coffee Street has a culture of people eating ice cream, often on the sidewalk or in their parked cars.” This culture also meant Smith did not need too much space for his first location; he could (and does) offer a ‘take-away only’ service at Coffee Street because people who buy ice cream there are rarely looking for a place to sit within the actual establishment.

Almost three years later, in late 2012, Smith decided to “experiment” with how his DC Signature flavours would do in an area not known for an ice cream culture - Debe, south Trinidad, a place with a reputation for selling some of the tastiest doubles, aloo pies and other savoury Indian foods.

“I found a small spot in the heart of Debe, along the SS Erin Road, very close to the doubles shed in the heart of the town. Debe was an experiment because I wanted to see how the area would ‘take’ to ice cream. Our (outlet) there is doing really well for what it is; take-away service. I’m sure if I found a larger space, like our (outlet) in Gasparillo, the business there (Debe) would grow,” Smith said.

Looking for a retail space large enough to offer seating for its customers, Dreamy Creamy opened its third outlet in Gasparillo in December 2015, shortly before Christmas. There are four tables with four chairs each and two bar seating areas, with two stools each.

Dreamy Creamy is known for its seasonal flavours, like Barfi, which proved to be such a big seller that it was added to the permanent list of available flavours on the premium DC Signature menu.

Looking to create a seasonal flavour for Divali 2014, Smith asked all employees, including his sister Kimberly Smith; who joined the company in mid-2010, to come up with ideas and funky names.

Kimberly, now General Manager of the company, thought barfi would make a great ice cream. Up to that point, Smith had been the sole person to experiment with recipes for flavour combinations people suggested to him but Kimberly came up with Dreamy Creamy’s Barfi recipe all on her own.

Three years prior to the creation of its Barfi flavour, Dreamy Creamy debuted three seasonal flavours for Christmas - Bailey’s, Ponche De Cr?me and Black Cake.

“These are only available… from the first week of November until maybe the first week of January. Our most popular is Black Cake. I think that’s because it (evokes) a true ‘Trini’ Christmas tradition and has pieces of black cake in it. Seasonal flavours are usually more costly to make than our DC Signature line, that’s why they are limited edition ice creams.” Three months ago, Dreamy Creamy raised its prices. Smith explained that, having absorbed rising costs for about three years, effective August 16 this year, there was a general price increase.

“This year, a lot of our suppliers raised their prices, mainly because of the shortage of US dollars. We import items such as m&ms, Reese’s and Oreo cookies for certain products.

The cost of ingredients really started going up in 2013, and some of our competitors raised their prices in September 2015, but we held off on a price increase for as long as possible because we wanted to penetrate the market.” Smith said the company has had “a lot more positive than negative feedback” on its Facebook page following the price increase.

In addition to ice cream, the family-owned company (Smith, Kimberly and their father, Peter, are all shareholders. Peter Smith is also a director) sells sundaes and milkshakes. The latter will be re-branded as DC Shakes in January 2017.

If a trip to one of its three locations is a bit out of the way for you, Dreamy Creamy’s ice creams are also available at JTA Supermarkets, Blooms Imports in Diego Martin, Artie’s Meats in Maraval, Cascade Mini Mart, Joe’s Pizza in Diego Martin and St Augustine, and coming soon to Pizza Boys’ locations throughout Trinidad.