Kelly's of Cornwall facts for kids
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| Private limited company | |
| Industry | Ice cream |
| Founded | c. 1890 |
| Headquarters | Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Froneri |
Kelly's of Cornwall is a well-known company that makes tasty ice cream. They are based in Bodmin, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The company started way back in the 1800s in St Austell and was a family business for more than 100 years!
Today, Kelly's is part of a bigger company called Froneri. Kelly's of Cornwall is famous across the UK, partly because of their TV adverts that help promote the Cornish language.
Contents
The Story of Kelly's Ice Cream
How It All Began
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The Kelly's story started in the late 1800s. A man named Joseph Staffieri came to St Austell, Cornwall, from Italy. He opened a business selling both ice cream and fish and chips.
In 1918, Joseph's son-in-law, Lazero Calicchia, took over the business. He used a horse and cart to deliver ice cream all around Cornwall. Soon, the company had special vans that would visit beaches and famous places across the county.
In the 1930s, the family changed their name to Kelly, and the company followed suit. They moved their main base to Bodmin in the 1970s. Kelly's ice cream became super popular at local events, and it has been a favorite at the Royal Cornwall Show every year since 1947.
The ice cream is made using milk and clotted cream from a nearby dairy farm in Trewithen. This farm also pasteurises the milk, which means heating it to make it safe.
Becoming a National Favorite
Kelly's ice cream was already a big hit in Cornwall. Then, in 2008, a company called R&R Ice Cream (which is now Froneri) decided to buy Kelly's. This helped Kelly's ice cream become available all over the UK.
The deal was finished in 2010. This meant Kelly's ice cream could be sold in big supermarkets like Tesco. Even with this change, Kelly's still carefully controls who sells their ice cream. They also still run their own fleet of ice cream vans.
As part of the takeover, Kelly's invested money to improve their "scooping parlours." These are special shops in Cornwall where you can buy scoops of their ice cream. By 2016, there were at least 49 Kelly's 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 the same year, they announced they were the sixth largest ice cream maker in Britain! With sales expected to reach £23 million in 2016, the company decided to invest £2 million in their factory in Bodmin to make even more ice cream.
In 2021, Kelly's updated their packaging and added new flavors 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 very 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 near Millbrook. It was shown during popular TV shows, including Britain's Got Talent.
After the UK government stopped funding the Cornish language in 2016, people from Kelly's even protested outside the Houses of Parliament. Because the advert was so successful, people in Cornwall hoped that Kelly's profits could help local projects that are working to bring the language back. Mark Trevethan from the Cornish Language Partnership said that while the adverts were fun, they also showed how important language and local culture are.
See also
