AS one of Scotland’s most famous ice-cream businesses celebrates its centenary this year, its managing director has told the Go Radio Business Show with Hunter & Haughey how the business has grown and remained relevant over the generations.
David Equi of Equi’s Ice Cream, whose grandfather Peter started the company as a café in Lanarkshire in 1922, said that the business now produces one million litres of luxury ice cream each year and supplies most of the major supermarkets.
The £3 million-turnover firm, which moved into a new purpose-built factory in Rutherglen from its longstanding base in Hamilton last year and now employs 25 staff, is also expanding its export business.
“We built the factory from scratch during lockdown,” Mr Equi explained. “We had everything in place and the builders lined up then Covid hit and there was a 10-month delay. However, we’ve been fully operational since last October.”
Known for its innovative flavours such as Isle of Skye Sea Salt & Caramel, Equi’s uses only the freshest milk and double cream from a local Lanarkshire farm. “We refuse to compromise on quality, and I think the public today want to know about the provenance of a product,” Mr Equi added.
The company, which continues to operate its parlour in Hamilton despite having outgrown the manufacturing facility there, has won numerous awards over the years, including the UK heat of the prestigious London Gelato Festival in 2017 then scooping the best in Europe award when it represented the UK at the European Gelato Festival in Florence the same year.
With Mr Equi’s daughter the fourth generation of the family to be involved in the business, the business is well placed for future growth, he said.
Asked about his own motivation, Mr Equi said that over the years he had strived to improve the company’s ice cream and innovate with flavours. “I wanted to win competitions and to do that you need the best factory, the best equipment,” he added, pointing to the numerous Great Taste Awards and UK Ice Cream Alliance awards Equi’s has notched up.
The company also supports numerous charities in its community including Kilbryde Hospice.
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