The expo is organized by the industry’s trade association, the Ice Cream Alliance (ICA).
The UK ice cream sector is worth in excess of £1bn ($1.3bn) per year, and the expo provides an opportunity for more than 40 exhibitors to sell their products and services to an estimated 2,500 buyers and business owners.
The Expo also hosts the National Ice Cream Competition, which this year was won by Northern Ireland company, Morelli’s.
Morelli Ice Cream Ltd, based in Coleraine in County Londonderry, which has family-owned outlets, franchisees and stockists spread across Ireland.
The company, which is more than 100 years old, has just opened a new factory and now produces 700,000 liters of ice cream per year.
The competition comprises 16 categories ranging from the most popular flavors across ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurts to innovation in new flavors and presentation, as well as a Newcomers’ award.
The Ice Cream Alliance represents more than 500 businesses in Great Britain and Ireland involved in the manufacturing, retail and catering of ice cream and related products.
At the event, DairyReporter spoke with Jo Mackenzie, sales director of ice cream products’ supplier Caterlink, which is a part of Orkla Food Ingredients; Jane Goodison-Shore, business development executive for ingredient suppliers Keylink; Rachel Brooks, regional business development manager for Wall’s; and Charles Naylor, from Zùsto UK, a supplier of a sugar substitute for ice cream and other products.
