And managing director Edwin Thirwell said the century-old local ice cream manufacturer had found credible evidence of a ready market in the British with their large West Indian population and market knowledge of Barbados.

He was speaking to BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY last week before leaving for a major food exhibition in London where approximately 1.5 million people were expected to visit.

"In addition to the obvious market, because we export right up the region from Belize to Guyana, we want to go after the British market because we've found that people want something from home and we are prepared to tailor the flavours we offer to suit them. We would have a different flavour rage to what we have in Barbados," he noted.

The BICO boss said there was also evidence that several overseas supermarkets were seeking out niche products.

"Certain operators just want something on their shelves that no one else has and we would certainly fit the bill," the BICO boss noted.

In the meantime, he reported, Government was working to have Barbados established as a country of origin acceptable to the European Union for the export of food products such as ice cream.

Until then, Thirwell said, BICO products for the UK market would be manufactured there under licence from the local company. (GE)