KREMI ice cream maker, Caribbean Cream, saw its revenue jump 19 per cent as its products hit store shelves in May.

The company posted $250 million more in revenue for the three months to May 31, or $40 million more than the comparative period in 2013.

Growth in sales outpaced increased costs, which climbed from $168 million to $183 million over the comparative quarters, due mainly to local inflation and costlier imported raw materials resulting from the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar.

The ice cream maker’s bottom line climbed from $9 million in the three months to May 31, 2013, to $16 million in the review quarter.

Higher revenue was attibuted to investment in marketing activities behind the Kremi brand during the quarter.

“We introdcued the “new look” of Kremi to the public at the JMA JEA Expo,” said management in its financial statements for the quarter uner review. “Over 5,000 persons were sampled during the launch of the rebranded packaging that was launched to the retail market in May.”

The company said that its products, which include ice cream cakes and ice cream packaged in varying sizes, “can now be see in most retail outlets island wide”.

Up to now, the ice-cream maker’s sales predominantly come from its mobile distribution segment — bike vendors and scoop shops — accounting for 80 per cent of its revenues.

Caribbean Cream has been undergoing major modernisation of its property, plant and equipment over the past year.

On top of the $69 million (net of transaction costs) it raised from an initial public offering last year, it borrowed another $94 million from Bank of Nova Scotia ($30 million in the review quarter) to assist in the completion of phase two of its expansion.

“(This) includes the construction of a new HACCP capable factory floor and the installation of a blast freezer,” said management.