Dairy ice cream business expands on back of Great Taste Award

Draynes Farm, the Northern Ireland producer of gluten-free ice cream, has moved into sorbet production with the launch of its first two flavours for both foodservice operations and retailers.

The company, based on a family farm at Lisburn in county Antrim, recently gained two stars in the UK Great Taste Awards for its vanilla dairy ice cream and is planning to invest in new equipment to enable it to increase volume of its nine-strong range.

The family business is now run by brothers Michael and Martin Drayne.

The two recently launched sorbets - lemon, and mango and passion fruit - are likely to be followed soon by a third, raspberry. They represent a significant expansion of the product range for the family-owned and managed business, according to commercial manager Phillip Sanaghan.

"We've been in the milk business for 80 years and have a longstanding reputation for wholesome and quality products," he says. "We decided to diversify into ice cream production a couple of years ago as way of growing the business at a very challenging time for the industry. It's proved an extremely successful development. Our target was to win business in foodservice and have been successful with leading hotels and restaurants across Northern Ireland.

"We produce a traditional dairy ice cream from milk from our own grass-fed herd. Milk is produced using the latest robotic technology,"
he adds.

The ice cream is being produced in a recently constructed processing unit. A further investment in new equipment will enable the business, which employs 35 people, to increase productivity, grow its product portfolio of ice cream and sorbets and enable it to explore new markets including the Republic of Ireland.

The company also provides fresh milk, cream and distributes an increasing portfolio of artisan products such as Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt. It also supplies milk to Abernethy Butter, a market leader in handcrafted butters.

Clients for the company's products include caterers, wholesalers, the Costa coffee chain, and high-end hotels and restaurants. It is also developing its ice cream packaging for retail and has around 20 scoop cabinets across Northern Ireland.