It’s been a scorching summer across much of Canada, but that is cold comfort for ice cream truck operators like Meedo Falou, who says inflation and high fuel costs are melting away his profits.
On a sweltering Thursday morning, the owner of Rainbow Ice Cream in Coquitlam, B.C., pores over a computer spreadsheet and talks to drivers about their routes.
Some flavours are in short supply, and Falou is focused on efficiency for his fleet of 10 trucks.
The problem is not just high gas prices, said Falou.
“Maintenance went up. Truck parts went up. The mechanical parts went up,” he said in an interview.
“Ice cream went up over 60 per cent. We had to jack the price up by a dollar. We couldn’t do more, because of the consumers. We just want them to be able to afford ice cream.”
Steve Christensen, executive director of the North American Ice Cream Association, said vendors are facing a range of challenges.
“Gas prices are up,” said Christensen, speaking from Missouri. “So, a lot of everything — cones, cups, different things — anything that needs to be delivered by truck has gone up in price as well.”
Many challenges
Ice cream prices usually go up three to five per cent a year, Christensen said. But he said this year, prices are up 10 to 15 per cent, although that might not be across the entire menu.
Falou said he has tried to keep prices in check.
“You don’t make in this business a profit on just one piece,” he said. “You make a profit on volumes, too. I want [people] to be able to afford to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck. I don’t want to give that bad image that the ice cream truck is so expensive, you know.”
Falou is hoping to “make just a little bit” without having to dip into his savings as he did during the past two years of the pandemic.
It’s been a tough year, said Falou, who shuts Rainbow Ice Cream from the end of September to April each year.
“We were hit by bad weather in the spring. It was the wettest weather in June. So that affects our sales big time. And definitely the profit is a lot less than the previous years.”
Much like everything else, the price of ice cream has increased at a much faster rate than normal this year. (Nina Westervelt/Bloomberg)
It’s not just local weather. Global climate events affect the ice cream business, too, Christensen said.
For example, Madagascar provides about 70 per cent of the world’s vanilla, and when there’s a storm there, or a short flowering season, it affects the global market.
“Which again, you know, affects ice cream,” he said.
The curse of ‘ghost kitchens’
Christensen said old-school ice cream truck vendors are also having to deal with new challenges, such as delivery apps and rivals in so-called “ghost kitchens” who lack a storefront but sell ice cream online.
“The overhead [for a ghost kitchen] is very inexpensive. They’re using social media to promote their ice cream, they’re selling it online and people are coming to pick it up from the kitchen or from a location.”
Falou started out driving an ice cream truck in the 1990s, which he called the “golden days” of the business. He said he made a lot more money then.
To overcome the obstacles of apps, weather, gas prices and inflation, Falou said he’s hoping there will be a comeback in corporate events and other scheduled bookings, which were cut back during the pandemic but are now returning.
“We did suffer,” he said, shaking his head. “We rely a lot on corporate events, birthday parties, parades and weddings and all that. So this year, they’re starting to come back. Some of them, not all of them. So hopefully next year we’ll get them all back.”
But gone are the days when an ice cream truck could drum up business by simply driving around and playing a happy tune, said Christensen.
Trucks ‘need to hustle’ now
“Ice cream truck owners need to seek out catering opportunities, food truck events, go to office blocks and hospitals and say, ‘Hey, we can put on a corporate event for you,”‘ he said.
“They need to hustle now a little more than probably they ever had before.”
Christensen recalled his first exposure to the ice cream business, listening as a child for the traditional jingle of the truck in his home country of Australia.
“And little Steve Christensen goes and gets some money from Mum’s dresser and goes out and buys the cone with a Flake in it,” he said with a laugh.
“I would like to think that people still love those experiences. So, the process of supporting your local ice cream van, I think, is very important, because it keeps those memories alive for kids these days.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
