North Wales ice-cream maker set for ambitious expansion

Ruthin-based Chilly Cow Ice Cream Ltd is celebrating after Denbighshire County Council planners recently gave the green light to the growing company’s ambitious plans to build a new production plant.

The news came at the end of a successful year for Chilly Cow which is owned and run by husband-and-wife team David and Anna Taylor.

With tens of thousands of ice cream pots made and delivered every year the expansion will enable the firm, which currently employs a team of three, to increase production and take on more staff.

Anna, the driving force behind Chilly Cow’s day-to-day activities, said:

“2018 was our best year yet. In just four years, we’ve gone from having a little idea to running a rapidly-growing company. We’ve new stockists coming on board all the time and have recently entered into a partnership with Theatr Clwyd in Mold.

“The increased demand for our range means we need more space to make and store our ice cream. Last year we made 18,000 litres of ice cream and, looking to the future, we’re hoping to increase annual production by 20 per cent. A new production plant will represent a big investment for us, but we are determined to keep making ice cream in Denbighshire, creating local jobs for local people.

“Last year’s long, hot summer was superb for business and we need to maintain that momentum creating more products to meet the increasing number of orders. We’re delighted at the decision to allow the development to go ahead and can now look at moving the project on.”

The new plant, which will house new production facilities, storage, freezers, and staff facilities, will be based at Chilly Cow’s Stryt Fawr Farm at Llanychan, near Ruthin. The farm’s herd of 90 Brown Swiss cows produce the milk for the ice cream.

Despite supermarkets knocking on Chilly Cow’s farm door, Anna, a Denbighshire tourism ambassador, insists they want to keep their products in North Wales.

“We’ve had offers from some of the big supermarkets, but we want to continue supporting local businesses. I’d far rather people popped into their local store and shopped on the high street.

“Independent businesses are essential to our way of life and that’s why we’re determined to keep making our products in the Vale of Clwyd, in a place where people can drop-in and visit us,” added Anna.

Anna has also invested in a new Moo Mobile and Moo Cart, enabling the company to not only better deliver their range of 14 ice creams to wholesalers but tap into growing wedding trends too.

She said:

“We’ve seen a real spike in requests to supply our products at weddings. The Moo Cart is providing to be very popular with couples looking for something a little different for their receptions and we already have plenty of bookings for this year.

“Chilly Cow’s future is hotting up, we’ve won awards including Best Rural Food Business for Wales and Northern Ireland and with a new flavour set to be launched soon our future is very promising.”