It’s simple right? Water minus heat plus packaging equals packaged ice. For the consumer, that’s all there is to it, but for the men and women of our industry the math is a lot more complex. Just to make raw ice requires a multitude of building considerations, extensive engineering, major equipment purchases, and skilled labor resources. Now add to these ingredients processing and packaging equipment, systems integration, and critical packaging products and the result is manufactured packaged ice products. But we still have not completed the recipe until the product is merchandised at the retailer for the consumer’s convenient purchase. This adds freezer space, trucks, routing systems, business platforms, merchandisers, and more skilled labor to the recipe. Wow, this seemingly simple recipe continues to get more complex. And these are only the major ingredients; there are plenty of “spices” or smaller ingredients that are required to make the recipe of packaged ice palatable to the manufacturer, retailer, and consumer alike.
All this being said, if we all do our job well, the consumer can trust that this “simple” product will be available where, and when, it is needed… and of course, safe to consume. Here’s to all of the men and women of this industry that keep it simple for the consumer. Without us, the party is never as good. The July 4th Holiday is right around the corner, let’s do our part to keep the celebrations going.
