Building a Safer, Smarter Workforce
How Blue Bunny Built a Safer, Smarter Workforce
You know ice cream is good when it lasts.
Of course, ice cream itself melts, but the Blue Bunny brand has been around for more than 80 years.
Now a household name, Blue Bunny is known for its playful persona and delicious flavors. Blue Bunny is the largest privately held, family-owned ice cream manufacturer in the United States. Known for innovation, quality, (yum), and large-scale production, Blue Bunny is headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa, (i.e., the Ice Cream Capital of the World) and also operates a high-output factory in Dunkirk, New York.
This location runs 24/7, powered by dedicated workers covering three shifts. It’s a fast-moving, precision-driven environment where safety, speed and communication are non-negotiable.
Raising the English Language Baseline for All
When manufacturing more than 500 ice cream flavors and frozen novelty products, you can imagine the critical role of clear communication. At the Dunkirk Blue Bunny factory alone, there are more than 400 employees working together, with planned expansions to come.
Blue Bunny’s goal was clear: bring every employee in the Dunkirk facility to a basic functional level of English for safety and efficiency. The continual breakdowns in communication were hurting productivity and increasing the potential for injury. Workers didn’t understand instructions. Feedback wasn’t being received clearly.
This wasn’t about upskilling just a few individuals.
Blue Bunny came to Fluency Corp to raise the baseline.
They wanted EVERY EMPLOYEE to:
- Quickly grasp safety rules
- Confidently ask for help when needed
- Easily follow instructions
- Be part of a seamless team with no communication gaps
Leveling the Playing Field of English
The Main Challenges Facing Fluency Corp at the Outset of this Project
Widespread lack of English skills across all shifts made it difficult to ensure safe machine operation and adherence to procedures.
High safety risks due to miscommunications around equipment use and factory protocols.
Shift-based scheduling complexity, requiring language training across all three shifts – day, swing, and overnight.
Urgent need for uniform communication standards to avoid production slowdowns and errors.
With a large-scale need at all hours of the day, we knew it would take a new level of customization to deliver.
Fluency Corp’s Solution
The minute we heard the Blue Bunny name, we were in. (Who doesn’t love ice cream?)
But really, a completely tailored full-scale English training program for the Dunkirk facility? Absolutely in our wheelhouse. Unlike general ESL classes this was not an academic exercise with some safety-related vocabulary cards.
This was a practical, workplace-centered English curriculum built around real communication needs already occurring on the factory floor.
We began the process with several in-depth conversations including team leads and management. We stuck around, observing and recording to discover the language they needed in action.
We were building a language curriculum in real time for Blue Bunny’s exact needs.
We Asked Things Like:
- What do employees need to know about this machine? What is it called?
- What instructions are you giving every day?
- What safety rules are you endlessly repeating?
- What safety rules did employees need to understand yesterday?
- What phrases are supervisors using 50x in a shift?
- What feedback do you need to give employees?
- What are employees most confused about each day?
- During what conversations do you have to pull in an interpreter? (meaning taking someone else away from their job)
From these interviews, we built our customized curriculum focusing on these three core categories:
Safety
Understanding warnings, rules, and emergency responses .
Basic Fundamental English
Directions, common tools and machinery terms, and workplace behavior expectations
Everyday Communication
Asking questions, reporting problems, and responding to supervisors effectively.
In addition to capping classes to keep groups small and ensure high participation and real speaking practice, we adapted to every shift. If workers clocked out at 11 p.m., we were ready to teach English at 9 p.m. No matter the hour, Fluency Corp showed up.
This flexibility was a critical key to success. Our commitment to meet employees where they were, both literally and linguistically, built trust and drove real engagement.
Our commitment to meet employees where they were built trust & drove real engagement.
Blue Bunny’s Team Results
Blue Bunny now has every single employee at the Dunkirk facility on the same level with language. Those few hundred employees are now able to quickly handle instructions, feedback, and the entire facility as a whole is a lot safer for everyone.
Universal English Baseline
Universal baseline of English achieved across the workforce, improving both safety and speed on the factory floor.
Increased Confidence
Increased confidence among workers, many of whom had never taken an English class before but were now actively participating in team communication.
Decrease in Miscommunication
Significant decrease in miscommunication-related incidents, including safety violations and errors in production.
Full Shift Coverage
Full shift coverage achieved, with consistent attendance—even for late-night sessions—thanks to flexible scheduling and job-relevant material.
Now Blue Bunny can take advantage of the huge leadership potential they have in house. The only thing holding them back was a basic level of English communication ability and a bit of professionalism. Now employees will see peers being promoted which is truly motivating for everyone to see.
At Fluency Corp We Don’t see Challenges, We See Opportunity
Communication Transforms
We see it every day.
Shift Schedules?
Hand us your most complicated one.
Multiple Languages?
We’ve got it.
Intense machinery, production lines, manufacturing processes?
Not a problem. Let us spend some time with your team.
Reporting, Feedback, & More
Got a CEO or CFO who wants to see how everything pays off, line by line? We can do that too. Reporting, feedback, participation monitoring, and more.
Our model works because we take the time up front to listen, first.
Bridging the Communication (and Safety) Gap
See how language training has helped foster growth, employee well-being, and productivity at Crate & Barrel.
English Language Training Helped Drive Expansion
Ferrovial wanted to ensure that both local and international employees collaborated at peak productivity.
LaLa Foods Reduced Turnover by 50%
Cultural and language training resulted in less stress and fewer resignations at Lala Foods in Mexico.
Employee Testimonials from Classes
I have learned what the tasks I do every day are called in English.
I have learned how to pronounce the word ”start” correctly. I used to pronounce a very short s.
I have learned how to say many basic words we use at work, like corner, boxes, bags, the equipment we use, etc.
I’ve learned to say be careful, help, how to introduce myself, and which line I am from.
I can now ask my operator if she measured the temperature or if the boxes are properly glued.
I learned the meaning of when something is DONE, like “I’m done cleaning the floor. I used to think they meant DOWN.
I’ve learned to ask for supplies that are missing in my line. I requested boxes that were finished. I also helped to give some breaks, and I was able to ask them to help clean the floor.
I now understand when they ask me to change my gloves, or to clean or dry the floor because it’s slippery.
Yes! My Company has Language Goals.
Fill out our form and we’ll be in touch regarding your company's second language training needs. Our consultations are always free.
"*" indicates required fields