Raúl Borges

Tell us about the evolution of BF Consultores and Icecare.
BF Consultores has been around for 27 years and focuses its activity on attracting European funding in various industrial sectors, ranging from aeronautics to more traditional sectors, such as textiles or metalworking. At the same time, the company has operated in the areas of energy, environment, water and sanitation in a segment more associated with central government public bodies. It has also explored the areas of mobility, specifically decarbonisation, through alternative energies, such as hydrogen. 
Icecare, on the other hand, as it more recent, began its journey in international markets, focusing on Germany. There it created Color Logistik Sinshein Gbr, which distributes the products, and it has managed to enter the «gourmet club»segment of El Corte Inglés Group. This entry into the Spanish group was a successful and very prestigious challenge. Increasing its scale, Icecare has invested in SuperCor of the same group, and recently it can be found in the hypermarkets of the Jerónimo Martins Group. The hope is that, in the future, the company will also be present in the shops of this group on a European level, specifically in the Polish chain Biedronka. 

BF Consultants has been around for 27 years

What sectors do these companies work in? 
BF Consultores works for a range of target audiences, covering industry, tourism and services. We have clients from the public and private sector and projects that are mainly business and profit-oriented, as well as others more to do with culture or education. We bring together projects financed with national and European support mechanisms. As for Icecare, this has worked with the large-scale food distribution sectors on a national level, while at an international level it has focused on distribution for the restaurant and smaller-scale food distribution sectors, while always looking with interest at large-scale food distribution. Icecare’s focus, however, is and will be, according to its vision, to position itself in the hospital and clinical sectors, with its range of functional ice creams. 

And what strategies will it have to follow to perform well in these markets?
Within the scope of the activity of BF Consultores, the focus is on parameters such as know-how, which comes from long experience. It has experienced teams, allowing it to achieve experience curves with much added value. At the same time as it invests in experience, it maintains its organisation and working methods in very agile templates. The teams are prepared to respond to new projects in different areas, with specialisation, flexibility and agility.
At Icecare it is the same as at BF Consultores, but in addition to experience and agility there is a focus on innovation, through research and development projects with partners that add value to us, such as the University of Minho and the Nanotechnology Institute.

Icecare’s focus is (...) to position itself in the hospital and clinical sectors

The market and the legal framework are constantly evolving in your business areas. How do you keep up with these challenges?
If there is one area where this happens every day, it is at BF Consultores. There are always new developments in terms of incentive systems, and there are many variables to monitor and internalise, both at a national and European level. BF manages to keep up with these changes through organisational tools that it designs and conceives, to be developed externally, according to their needs, and which are used by experienced teams that read the current situation in an effective and predictive way. At Icecare, on the other hand, change is accompanied by transforming the company itself into the disruptive force, the agent of change, which brings innovative products to the market, anticipating needs.

What is the secret to success?
In most cases, there is no secret. There is vision, that is to say, knowing where you want to go. And then there is the persistence in getting there, because the path is not obvious, it is not easy and it is not undeviating. Finally, being optimistic, believing that we will get there. And, as an extra, to have a sense of humour to overcome the falls along the way.

What are your plans for the near future?
In the near future, Icecare will launch whey protein (fitness), phytosterol (cardio-healthy) and vitamin D and B12 ice creams within international markets. It will also launch ice cream with inulin, which, besides less fat, has a lower sugar content. This is an entry into the functional segment with a strong focus on health and wellness concerns, anticipating the medical foods segment.
As for BF Consultores, the near future will bring projects of a greater dimension, complexity and collaborative nature, in industries such as energy and digital technologies. Areas such as decarbonisation through renewable energies, specifically hydrogen and related projects, will lead to work with business models for this new economy, based on economic maximisation, along with carbon neutrality. They will also lead to an intensive exploration of hybrid and more complex financing mechanisms at both national and European levels.