The Morrison Government is helping a Queensland business sell ice creams to Africa as part of its plan to help Australian businesses find new international customers and support local jobs and economic growth.
Formally Logan based but now Gold Coast based company Frosty Boy, developed a slow-melt soft serve ice cream to expand its home-delivery range during the COVID-19 pandemic. The breakthrough means a customer can now order a home-delivered soft serve and expect it to arrive in shape up to 20 minutes after leaving a retail outlet.
The company approached the Morrison Government for help expanding its global reach into Africa.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the Morrison Government, through Austrade, was working with Frosty Boy to export their slow melt soft serve and other products to Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya.
“Austrade works with Australian businesses to help them reach new customers around the world,” Mr Tehan said.
“In the case of Frosty Boys, we provided market information and insights, as well as facilitating connections through our extensive global network so they could hit the ground running in their new African markets.”
Member for Forde Bert van Manen said Frosty Boys was a great local success story.
“Our community has been enjoying Frosty Boy ice creams for decades so we’re happy to share them with the rest of the world,” Mr van Manen said.
“Their success also means more local jobs and more opportunities for the businesses that support the Frosty Boys operation.
“The Morrison Government supports businesses to expand and succeed internationally because of the benefits it delivers in local communities, like ours in Forde.”
Frosty Boy Managing Director Dirk Pretorius said the company’s investment in innovation was paying dividends.
“The Austrade teams have done an incredible job under very difficult circumstances. Doing the market research and getting the sort of detailed information they’ve come back with has been amazing. It has really helped us accelerate our thinking around those markets,” Mr Pretorius said.
“The opportunities they have identified and the understanding they have given us of who the competitors are in that space – as well as what challenges we can expect – has really helped us formulate an approach to that market really quickly.
“Something that would have probably normally taken us 12 to 18 months has been pushed into three months.
“It’s something we couldn’t have done even if there wasn’t a COVID situation … It has also helped us understand the relationship between government, industry bodies and the customer.”
