THE ICE CREAM ON THE CAKE

Northern Ireland luxury ice cream maker, Mullin's Ice Cream has secured its first major break into the UK food service market with a new contract to supply Castell Howell Foods with its innovative ice cream cakes. Based in South Wales and serving over 4,000 customers across a wide range of catering organisations, Castell Howell Foods is one of the country's leading independent food wholesalers. Commenting, Peter Lynn, Business Development Manager at Mullin's Ice Cream, said: ???This is a big step for Mullin's. We have been trying to break into the UK food service market for some time and are delighted to have made the first step. Castell Howell Foods is a very well known and respected wholesaler and the feedback we are getting from the company and its customers since the first order went out in March is hugely encouraging for long-term growth.??? ???The existing range comprises of Strawberry Bash (luxury strawberry ice cream with real fruit pieces on a vanilla sponge base, topped with strawberry sauce and white chocolate shavings), Caramel Swirl (rich caramel ice cream with a Dulche De Leche sauce on a chocolate sponge base, topped with chocolate sauce and milk and white chocolate sprinkles) and Chocolate Mudslide (chocolate ice cream with Belgian chocolate chunks on a chocolate sponge base, topped with caramel sauce and dark chocolate pine needles),??? said Peter. ???However, these are about to be joined by an exciting new cake ??" Raspberry & White Chocolate, which features white chocolate ice cream with a raspberry swirl through it on a vanilla sponge base, topped with white chocolate shavings. ???The cakes are all pre-portioned in slices of 12 and are freezer to table ready, which makes them a very convenient and waste-free addition to any menu ??" simply lift a portion off the cake to order and pop the rest back in the freezer,??? Peter explained. ???They are all made from top quality dairy ice cream from Mullin's own dairy herd and the best ingredients we can source. ???Sales of our ice cream cakes have really taken off this year,??? added Peter. ???The good weather obviously has a very positive impact on ice cream sales overall, but the cakes are proving a really popular choice for consumers as an alternative to the standard type of gateaux you see on menus and eating them is a unique experience, offering the appearance of a cake and the texture of the fluffy sponge with deliciously flavoursome creamy ice cream. ???We are thrilled our ice cream cakes are now available to caterers through Castell Howell Foods' which is a member of the Sterling Super Group, a massive UK-wide buying consortium. Indeed, on the strength of securing our listing with Castell Howell Foods, we have been in discussion with at least three other members of the group and look forward to seeing our range become more widely available throughout the UK ??" and not just our ice cream cakes, but our wonderful ice creams and sorbets too!??? Founded in 1954, Mullin's ice cream is renowned throughout Northern Ireland for its quality, creaminess and richness of flavour. The company operates from a BRC Grade A state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kilrea, County Londonderry and was awarded a silver medal by the Ice Cream Alliance in 2009 for its Champagne Sorbet. Its product range includes dairy ice cream made from the Mullin's family's own herd; 100 per cent pure Jersey ice cream, made from milk and cream from Rosebank Farm in Aghadowey, just a few miles from Mullin's factory; ice cream cakes and sorbets. Mullin's also produces the unique Bally Bleat goat's milk ice cream, which offers a great tasting option for the estimated one-in-nine of the population who are lactose-intolerant or are advised to avoid cow's milk because of other medical conditions, such as eczema, psoriasis and asthma, or who simply choose not to take cow's milk products. A dynamic and progressive company, Mullin's was the first to develop a unique range of dairy ice cream cakes, which were originally launched to the food service market in 2008 and proved an instant hit with the company's customers in Ireland. The company achieved the top rating of three stars for its goat's milk ice cream with vanilla and two stars each for its pistachio ice cream and its chocolate sorbet products at the recent annual UK Great Taste Awards.