Kelly's of Cornwall facts for kids
 |
|
| Private limited company | |
| Industry | Ice cream |
| Founded | c. 1890 |
| Headquarters | Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Froneri |
Kelly's of Cornwall makes delicious ice cream in Bodmin, Cornwall, in the UK. It started as a family business in the 1800s in St Austell and stayed in the family for over 100 years. Today, it's part of a bigger company called Froneri. Kelly's is well-known across the UK, partly because of its TV adverts that celebrate the Cornish language.
Contents
The Story of Kelly's Ice Cream
How it All Began
.jpg)
The company was started by Joseph Staffieri in the late 1800s. He came from Italy and opened a business selling ice cream and fish and chips in St Austell. In 1918, his son-in-law, Lazero Calicchia, took over. He used a horse and cart to deliver ice cream all around Cornwall. Later, they used vans to reach beaches and famous places across the county.
In the 1930s, the family changed their name to Kelly. The company then became Kelly's of Cornwall. They moved to Bodmin in the 1970s. Their ice cream became very popular at farming events. It has been a favourite at the Royal Cornwall Show every year since 1947. The ice cream is made with milk and clotted cream from a nearby farm at Trewithen. The milk is also pasteurised there, which means it's heated to kill germs.
Becoming a National Favourite
Kelly's ice cream was already a big hit in Cornwall. In 2008, a company called R&R Ice Cream (now Froneri) bought Kelly's. This helped Kelly's ice cream be sold all over the country. The deal was finished in 2010. After this, you could find Kelly's ice cream in big supermarkets like Tesco. Even though it's a bigger company now, Kelly's still carefully chooses who can sell its ice cream.
Kelly's also still runs its own fleet of ice cream vans. They have also put money into opening more "scooping parlours" in Cornwall. These are special shops where you can buy scoops of their ice cream. By 2016, there were at least 49 of these parlours across Cornwall.
Between June 2013 and June 2014, Kelly's made about 14.5 million litres of their famous clotted cream ice cream. In that same year, they announced they were the sixth largest ice cream maker in Britain. In 2016, they expected to sell a record £23 million worth of ice cream. Because of this success, they invested £2 million into their factory in Bodmin to make even more ice cream.
In 2021, Kelly's updated their packaging and added new flavours like chocolate and raspberry ripple. They also announced they would support the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
Supporting the Cornish Language
Kelly's of Cornwall is a big supporter of the Cornish language. In May 2016, they spent £2 million on a major TV and online advertising campaign. This advert was special because it was the first time the Cornish language was used on national British television. The advert showed a man trying to sell ice cream to cows in a field in Millbrook. It was even shown during popular TV shows like Britain's Got Talent.
When the government stopped funding the Cornish language in 2016, people from Kelly's protested outside the Houses of Parliament. After the advert became popular, local councillors in Cornwall hoped that Kelly's profits could help bring the language back. Mark Trevethan from the Cornish Language Partnership said the adverts were fun, but they also showed how important language and local culture are.
See also
