Cream of the Wolds

The ice-cream manufacturing business was started by husband and wife Richard and Heather Wright at their pig and arable farm at North Dalton, Driffield.

And with the prospect of doubling their business by 2012, they are pitching for two titles – the Small Business Of The Year and Family Business Of The Year.

In the first couple of years, powered by a grant from Growing Roots, and guided by its mentor Jane Fowler, Cream of the Wolds ice cream found its way into the region’s pubs, hotels and ice cream parlours – watch out for its appearance at Castle Howard this summer.

This is a concerted family effort, involving three generations – Heather’s parents provide the milk and cream from the family farm, the couple themselves are responsible for production, sales and delivery and their two sons often help out between schoolwork and rugby training. Already their traditional ice-cream cart can be seen at local events and is also available for hire at weddings.

But now the firm has appointed a marketing consultant to boost the business still further.

A website is being built, new branding designed and there is an advertising and PR campaign to raise the ice cream’s profile beyond East Yorkshire. Driven by customer service, the Wrights make their ice cream in 6.5-litre batches.

Heather said: “This means that we can make any bespoke flavour our customers would like to try, from the weird and wonderful Tomato Sorbet & Basil ice cream to the delicious Melon & Pimms Sorbet.”