The business of ice: How an innovative man started making money out of frozen water  

Nothing can be more refreshing on a sweltering summer day than an ice-filled glass of chilled juice, right? Though we get to buy ice cubes, it is now easy to make them at home, thanks to the advent of refrigerators. Ice is used not only for chilled drinks but also for preserving food in domestic and commercial circles. This practice is not new though. In ancient times, Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Chinese harvested and store ice during the winter season to keep their food and drinks cool in summer. But the idea of making a business out of frozen water was unique indeed. It was the brainchild of Frederic Tudor, an American businessman, who earned the moniker ‘The Ice King’.  He carved frozen water out of the lakes and ponds of Massachusetts and started sending it to faraway lands including India. You must be wondering how he could export ice without it melting away, right? He used to pack it tight and insulate it with straw. But that wasn’t good enough. Later on, he switched to sawdust from straw and started packing tighter. This minimised wastage and led to roaring profits. Well, it wasn’t as easy for Tudor as it sounds. His success took a lot of time and hardships too!  

Inception of the idea 
At a family picnic, Tudor and his brothers were enjoying the luxury of ice cream and cool drinks. They made jokes about how all the sweating colonists in the West Indies would be envious of their cool beverages. Although it was only a casual comment, Tudor remembered it, only to be known as The Ice King of the future.  

Rough patch 
He sent his first shipload of ice to Martinique in 1806. What did not melt on the way, he was able to sell but at a loss of $4,500. Next, he sent three shipments to Cuba, suffering an even greater loss. By 1812, he was bankrupt and landed up in prison, thanks to a business partner who swindled him. 

Tudor tastes success 
All these setbacks couldn’t rob Tudor off his ice dreams. He bounced back after being freed from jail. What did he do? First, he took a loan to pursue his passion and went on to sell ice to scientists and physicians in the tropics who found it to be an effective way for preserving food and other medical uses. Gradually, he convinced cafes to chill their drinks with ice. First, he gave away his ice free of cost and then started charging when the demand for cool drinks was really high. Clever strategy, isn’t it? With his rising success, Tudor was looking for ways to expand his business. He hired a man named Nathaniel Wyeth to help him grow. He devised a way to mass produce ice and cut the cost at the same time. During that time, ice had to be hand-cut. What did Wyeth do? He crafted a horse-drawn ice plough as well as a mechanism to divide frozen bodies of water into chessboard patterns and cut into ice blocks about two feet square. This reduced the cost by two-thirds and made it possible to sell in greater volumes.  

Tudor hits the jackpot 
It was around the 1830s when a brilliant (crazy too!) idea struck Tudor. He decided to export ice to the British colonisers of the then Calcutta (now Kolkata) in India. Back then, it took four months to cover that 14,000-mile stretch. The first ship carried 180 tons of ice, out of which 80 tons melted away. But he still managed a profit. Since then, he shipped ice to India for the next two decades, which made him a millionaire.