{"id":98865,"date":"2026-08-27T13:37:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/?post_type=rbc_my_money_matter&p=98865"},"modified":"2026-08-27T13:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:37:27","slug":"rethinking-an-industry-frozen-in-time-how-les-marchands-built-a-premium-ice-business","status":"publish","type":"rbc_my_money_matter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/business\/get-inspired\/business-success-stories\/rethinking-an-industry-frozen-in-time-how-les-marchands-built-a-premium-ice-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking an Industry Frozen in Time: How Les Marchands Built a Premium Ice Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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TLDR<\/h4>\n
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  • If the market isn\u2019t ready for your idea, education may be just as important as execution.<\/p><\/li>\n

  • Setbacks are inevitable. Long-term success depends on how quickly you adapt and keep moving forward.<\/p><\/li>\n

  • The biggest opportunities often come from challenging assumptions and solving problems others have overlooked.<\/p><\/li>\n

  • There\u2019s no single path to starting a successful business. Les Marchands began with an idea, learned as they went and evolved over time.<\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>
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    There is no secret recipe for starting and building a successful business. Some entrepreneurs spend months refining a business plan before they launch, while others seize an opportunity and bring it to life with energy, speed and ambition.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s exactly how Les Marchands, a Montreal-based company operating since 2016, built its premium ice business. Guided by a knack for innovation and a willingness to adapt, the company transformed a niche idea into a thriving business, expanded into new markets and, ultimately, solved a problem the industry didn\u2019t even know it had.<\/p>\n

    Selling an idea before the market was ready<\/h2>\n

    Pierre-Olivier Prince has always been a problem solver. He knew that one day he would build a business around solving a problem \u2013 he just didn\u2019t yet know which one.<\/p>\n

    The idea came to him at a time when, as he puts it, the profession of \u201cbartender\u201d was transforming into that of \u201cmixologist.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cBartenders were making their own syrups and their own recipes, but it was before what I would call the \u2018golden age\u2019 of the cocktail,\u201d says Prince. \u201cIce was an afterthought \u2013 a niche obsession. They would make ice blocks in coolers, store them in their freezers, and cut them with kitchen utensils or tools. The problem was that bartenders could only produce fifteen to twenty decent pieces of ice per night or per week.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Over the next three years, Prince tried to convince bars that premium ice deserved a place in every great cocktail. Clearer, denser and more aesthetically refined than conventional ice, it melts more slowly, helping preserve a drink\u2019s flavour and temperature. Produced in a variety of shapes and sizes, it is designed to complement different spirits, cocktails and glassware. But the challenge wasn\u2019t the product \u2013 it was convincing customers they needed it.<\/p>\n

    Ice-cold ambition \u2014 and a refusal to give up<\/h2>\n

    A lack of uptake meant Prince and his then-business partner had to keep working in bars at night to cover rent and the bills tied to the project.<\/p>\n

    In the early days, deliveries were made by taxi. \u201cWe\u2019d tell the driver: Wait ten minutes. I\u2019m going up to the bar, putting this in the freezer and I\u2019ll be right back,\u201d recalls Prince. To make ends meet, they decided to start selling bags of ice. But the bags, filled by hand, just could not meet the demand.<\/p>\n

    Eventually, Prince\u2019s original business partner chose to leave the business after the two realized they had different visions for its future. That\u2019s when Alexandre Cabrejo-Jones, fresh into his career in venture capital entered the picture. He drafted the buyout agreement, ensuring the departing partner left on fair terms, before taking responsibility for the company\u2019s finances, administration and legal matters.<\/p>\n

    With the finances steadied, Prince and Cabrejo-Jones brought on a third partner, Conrad Pomerleau \u2013 recently back from a year-long journey across South Asia and ready to buy into the vision.<\/p>\n

    Working together, the three moved into a larger facility and upgraded their equipment. By late 2019, demand had finally caught up. Taxi deliveries were a thing of the past, replaced by a growing roster of bars and restaurants that had come to see what a better cube could do for a cocktail.<\/p>\n

    Then came the pandemic<\/h2>\n

    But the momentum didn\u2019t last. In March 2020, lockdowns shut down bars and restaurants almost overnight, wiping out nearly 90% of Les Marchands\u2019 revenue. Rather than viewing the shutdown as a setback, the team treated it as an opportunity to rethink how they operated. They refined their processes, strengthened the business behind the scenes and prepared for the day customers returned.<\/p>\n

    Expanding to new markets, challenging norms<\/h2>\n

    Today, Les Marchands serves the greater Montreal area, Ottawa, Toronto and Boston through a network of partners and affiliated companies. Expanding into the U.S. required adapting their business model to a new market, while closer to home, a strategic acquisition in Toronto strengthened their presence in Ontario.<\/p>\n

    Day to day, the three partners lead a small, tight-knit team built on autonomy, accountability and celebrating wins together each week.<\/p>\n

    Les Marchands has never been shy about its ambition: more than anything, the partners want to upend the status quo.<\/p>\n

    The next chapter for Les Marchands is a proprietary technology platform designed to rethink how ice products are ordered, fulfilled, and distributed. It will help power Les Marchands’ own operations and customer experience, while also connecting independent producers to a decentralized marketplace, creating a single source where businesses of all sizes can meet their ice needs while producers gain access to modern technology, streamlined operations, and expanded market reach.<\/p>\n

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    Lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs<\/h2>\n
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    • Choose partners you can trust and align with your vision<\/strong>. \u201cYou can achieve greater things with someone you truly trust,\u201d says Cabrejo-Jones, who cautions that going into business with a partner is always a risk. \u201cBoth partners\u2019 visions need to be well aligned.\u201d<\/p><\/li>\n

    • Starting a business is hard<\/strong>. There\u2019s nothing wrong with a gradual transition. \u201cI spent eight years in venture capital before joining the company full-time,\u201d says Cabrejo-Jones.<\/p><\/li>\n

    • Recognize that every entrepreneurial journey is different<\/strong>. \u201cEvery entrepreneur has their own reality. They\u2019re all different from one another, and so is the way you grow a business,\u201d says Prince.<\/p><\/li>\n

    • Love what you do<\/strong>. Managing problems, putting out fires is constant. \u201cThe most important thing is to be satisfied with your day,\u201d says Prince. \u201cLove what you do. And do something that will set you apart in the market.\u201d<\/p><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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      Curiosity, adaptability and the willingness to fail and start over have defined Les Marchands from the start. Ask the partners what has carried them through years of uncertainty, and one word keeps coming up: \u201cent\u00eat\u00e9\u201d<\/em> \u2014 stubborn. Though perhaps perseverance is the better translation.<\/p>\n

      Long before premium ice became commonplace, they kept showing up at bars with a product few people understood, patiently explaining why it mattered. Eventually, the market caught up.<\/p>\n

      Their story is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn\u2019t always about having the perfect idea at the perfect time. Sometimes, it\u2019s about believing in an idea long enough \u2013 and working hard enough \u2013 for everyone else to see it too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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