Mr. Whippy (United Kingdom) facts for kids
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| Company and franchise | |
| Industry | Food Retail Direct service |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Founder | Dominic Facchino |
| Headquarters | |
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Key people
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Peter Woodhams |
| Owner | Unilever |
| Parent | Wall's (ice cream) |
Mr. Whippy is a famous brand of soft ice cream. It is made by Wall's, which is part of a bigger company called Unilever. Mr. Whippy started as a business where people could buy a license to sell its ice cream from special vans. Now, "Mr. Whippy" mostly refers to the soft ice cream itself.
The ice cream vans you see with the "Mr. Whippy" name are allowed to sell this special soft ice cream. In some countries like Australia and New Zealand, Mr. Whippy still operates as a full franchise business. In the United Kingdom, Mr. Whippy is very popular and often served in a single cone.
Contents
The Story of Mr. Whippy
How It All Began
The idea for Mr. Whippy came from a British businessman named Dominic Facchino. He visited the United States and saw a company called Mister Softee selling soft ice cream from mobile vans. Dominic Facchino wanted to bring this idea to the UK.
Since he could not get a license for Mister Softee, he decided to start his own company. In 1958, he created the Mr. Whippy franchise in Birmingham, England. He began with a small fleet of six ice cream vans.
Becoming Part of Unilever
The Mr. Whippy company grew quickly. In 1966, a very large company called Unilever bought Mr. Whippy. Unilever is known for owning many different brands around the world.
Mr. Whippy Around the World
Spreading to Australia
Mr. Whippy became so successful in the UK that it started to expand internationally. In 1962, the company sent ten ice cream vans from Southampton, UK, all the way to Sydney, Australia. This was the start of Mr. Whippy in Australia.
Because it was so popular, another twenty-four vans were sent the next year. Mr. Facchino also decided to expand to New Zealand.
Mr. Whippy in New Zealand
After its success in Australia, Mr. Whippy sent twenty-four vans to New Zealand. Over time, about 200 Commer Karrier vans were sent from the UK to Australia. About 50 Austin vans went to New Zealand. For a short time, Mr. Whippy also had franchises on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
The Mr. Whippy franchise in Australia continued until the mid-1970s. After that, the vans were sold to different private owners. In 1982, the "Mr. Whippy" name was officially registered in Australia by a company called Mr. Whippy Pty Ltd. Today, the Franchised Food Company owns the brand there.
In New Zealand, a company called General Foods Limited (later Tip Top) took over the main rights for Mr. Whippy in the early 1980s. The Isuzu Elf became the standard Mr. Whippy van. The vans changed from pink and white to orange and white colors.
In the early 2000s, Tip Top sold the main franchise to Peter Woodhams. He then sold it to Flying Kiwi Holdings in 2006. The Mr. Whippy vans became more modern, using models like the Ford Transit and Fiat Ducato. As of 2025, there are about 36 Mr. Whippy franchisees operating 58 vans in New Zealand.
