Kelly's of Cornwall is a manufacturer of ice cream based in Bodmin, Cornwall. It was founded in the 19th century in St Austell and ran as a family business for over 100 years. It is now owned by the conglomerate Froneri based in Yorkshire.[2] The company has achieved national prominence in the UK with its television advertising that promotes the Cornish language.
 | |
| Company type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Ice cream |
| Founded | c. 1890[1] |
| Headquarters | Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Froneri |
| Website | www |
From June 2013 to June 2014, Kelly's produced around 141⁄2 million litres of clotted ice cream. During the same period, the company announced that it was the sixth largest ice cream manufacturer in Britain and forecast projected sales at £23 million for 2016.
History
editLocal history
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The company was established as an ice cream and fish and chips business by Joseph Staffieri in the late 19th century after he migrated from Italy to St Austell.[3] His son-in-law, Lazero Calicchia took over the business in 1918, using a horse and cart to distribute ice cream around Cornwall.[4] The mobile business operated with vans regularly travelling to beaches and landmarks around the county.[1] The family name was changed to Kelly (with the company name following suit) in the 1930s, moving to Bodmin in the 1970s.[3] The ice cream became popular at agricultural shows and has been a fixture at the Royal Cornwall Show since 1947.[4]
The ice cream has been produced from milk and clotted cream farmed and pasteurised from a nearby dairy farm at Trewithen.[1]
National success
editHaving become a popular ice cream in Cornwall, R&R Ice Cream (now Froneri) announced a buyout of the company in 2008 to enable the product to be distributed nationally.[5] The merger was completed in 2010[3] and allowed the product to be stocked in national supermarkets such as Tesco,[6] though the company still tightly controls who is allowed to sell the ice cream.[7] Kelly's continue to run the ice cream van fleet independently of R&R.[4] As part of the takeover, they have invested more in various "scooping parlours" that sell ice cream over the counter around Cornwall, including refurbishment of the buildings.[3] As of 2016 Kelly's had at least 49 parlours spread across the county.[8]
From June 2013 to June 2014, Kelly's produced around 14.5 million litres (3.2m imp gal; 3.8m US gal) of their clotted ice cream. The same year, the company announced it was the sixth largest ice cream manufacturer in Britain.[5] After a projected record sales of £23 million forecast for 2016, the company announced it would invest £2 million at its Bodmin factory, on the Walker Lines Industrial Estate, in order to increase output.[9]
In 2021, the packaging was rebranded and the range of ice cream expanded to include new chocolate and raspberry ripple flavours. Kelly's also announced they would sponsor the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.[10]
Promotion of Cornish
edit"Yma res nowydh kavadow a Kelly's Cornish ice cream hag yw as tasty as."
("There's a new range of Kelly's Cornish ice cream available that is as tasty as.")
Opening line of the Cornish speaker in the 2016 TV advert[11]
The company is a strong supporter of the Cornish language. In May 2016 it invested £2 million with the advertising agency Isobel for a prominent television and online advertising campaign.[12] The advert was the first shown on national British television to make use of Cornish, featuring a man attempting to sell ice cream in a field of cows at Millbrook.[1][13][14] It was shown on prime time television, including breaks in Britain's Got Talent.[11]
After central Government funding for the Cornish language ceased in 2016, company representatives protested outside the Houses of Parliament.[15] Following the advert's success, councillors in Cornwall hoped that the company's profits could be re-invested into local schemes helping to revive the language.[13] The Cornish Language Partnership's Mark Trevethan said that while the adverts were entertaining, they made a serious point about the importance of language and the celebration of local culture.[14]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Kelly's Cornish Ice Cream". Cornwall Life. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ "Ice Cream Waste Creating Green Energy". Resource. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Kelly's US owner announces £2.5m nationwide campaign". West Briton. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c "Key to Kelly's: It's true to say ice cream is in my veins". Cornish Guardian. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Ice cream firm doubles production in five years – enough to give everyone in Britain two scoops each". Western Morning News. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Kelly's Vanilla Cornish Dairy Ice Cream". Tesco. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Family-run Prom Cafe just off Gordon Promenade happy to be summer tradition in Gravesend". Kent Online. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ^ "Ice Cream Parlour Map 2 – Kelly's of Cornwall". Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ "£2M Kelly's investment". Business Insider. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Kelly's of Cornwall launches two new decadent flavours to coincide with first brand refresh in five years". Retail Times. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Cornish language ice cream advert first in the UK". itv.com. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Isobel wins Kelly's of Cornwall ad account". Campaign Live. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Kelly's of Cornwall urged to give ice cream profits to council". Cornish Guardian. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Sweeney, Mark (20 May 2016). "First Cornish TV ad to air weeks after language funding is axed". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "World's first Cornish Language TV advert". Business Cornwall. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
Further reading
edit- Let languages shout out your business benefits – article in The Guardian discussing the benefits of minority languages
