Northern Irish ice cream maker seeks outlets in Britain
Mauds, the Top 50 listed ice cream maker from Northern Ireland, is keen to develop distribution deals in Great Britain for its award winning products.
Based at Carrickfergus in county Antrim, Mauds was a three-star winner in this year's UK Great Taste Awards for its strawberry and cream ice cream dessert and was subsequently listed in the Top 50 Foods
In addition, the family-owned and run company was the iced dessert category winner in the recent National Irish Food Awards for its unique honeycomb ice cream.
David Wilson, managing director of Mauds, among the best known and most successful ice cream makers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, says: "The success we've experienced in the prestigious Great Taste Awards this year has raised awareness of our ice cream particularly in Britain," he says.
The business already has a strong base in the Republic, which provided 28 per cent of its turnover last year, also supplies outlets in Spain and has had a "serious approach" from China.
"We'd certainly be interested in finding the right channel to develop sales in Britain. We'd have to expand the business though because we are currently operating at full capacity. We certainly have space to do so at Carrickfergus…when the time and the economy are right," he adds. "The Top 50 ranking is an important endorsement of the quality and outstanding taste of our products. We've also won a series of major awards from the Ice Cream Alliance, our trade body. What these all add up to is world class ice cream."
Mauds was the first to develop and launch ice cream with honeycomb, 'Poor Bear' generally known among legions of devotees as 'Pooh Bear'', which remains the company's most popular flavour and one based on a secret recipe developed by an experienced boiled sweet maker who tweaked it specifically it to suit ice cream.
Family tradition underpins the business. "My father named the business after my grandmother on Mothering Sunday, as a special present," he says.
And it's a business that also values its employees; many of those who started in the 80s still work for the company, ensuring stability and consistent quality. Today, Mauds has 10 people on the payroll and a further five work for the business during the peak season. The business is now based in a state-of-the-art processing plant at Carrickfergus.
The impressive facility continues to operate to traditional artisan techniques, handcrafting ice cream, but also has the capability and capacity to deliver quality ice cream in volume to its network of almost 500 retail outlets across the island of Ireland.
"Developing new flavours is a meticulous business. We use only the best ingredients to get the right taste. Our award winning strawberry and cream, for instance, was created using three different strawberry varieties that were handpicked for us by a supplier in county Down. Our fudge, caramel and, of course, honeycomb are all made by us."
As well as the products for retail, Maud's has a developing business with high-end restaurants for bespoke flavours. A new restaurant range is being created by the team for this important marketplace.