The Buddy System Company Background:

In 1997, Robert Sotile identified a need and invented what would later become The Buddy System. One day at the ice cream parlor, Sotile saw the server handle some money, push her hair behind her ears, then touch his ice cream cone while filling it, subsequently wrapping his cone with a napkin. Sotile refused the cone as unsanitary; the server protested that the money was clean, her hair was clean, and her hands were clean. Sotile was determined to solve this problem, and thus The Buddy System was invented.

Sotile incorporated as an S-corp in 1997 as The Cone Buddy’s Corp. On December 20, 1997, Sotile filed his patent application, including drawings and prototypes. Sotile was granted patent protections, US Patent no. 75/ 379,772 and Canadian patent no. 382,085.

The Buddy System’s Cone Buddies were first offered to the retail public on June 13th, 1998, at a Carvel Ice Cream store in Irondequoit, New York. In the first year of sales, Sotile sold 1,000,000 units. Sales have since doubled and tripled, with a stedy 15 to 20% growth annually.

Cone Buddies sold to date -- 60,000,000 !!! The Buddy System currently has a Nationwide reach, with additional sales to Canada, Greece, Antigua, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.

The problem is one that for a consumer is legally actionable—food mishandling. A consumer could contract staph viruses, or diarrhea. As well, ingesting bacteria that comes from hands that have touched money can cause Toxic Shock Syndrome. Additionally, money is dirty—it can have trace cocaine, fecal matter, germs, etc.

The benefits of the Buddy System:
• Clean
• Easy
• Inexpensive
• Healthy
• Great customer service
• Word-of-mouth for ice cream stand