A Kent family's passion for dairy and ice cream has impressed a local food and drink specialist so much that their products will now feature in convenience stores across Kent and East Sussex.
Solley's Kentish Ice Cream has been a family run business for more than 30 years and four of its flavours will now be stocked in local Southern Co-op stores as part of its Local Flavours range.
Based in Ripple, near Deal, the milk and cream comes from just one mile away from the farm, with 85 per cent of the base ingredients sourced locally.
The family has owned the farm since the 1930s with their herd of Guernsey cows, and in 1985 Stephen Solley began looking for ways to add value to the milk.
The company has since grown to become the South East's largest independent producer of real dairy ice cream and is now run by Stephen's son in law and daughter Keith and Katie Morrison.
"We're celebrating our own special birthday this year - it's been 150 years since the co-operative was first formed in Portsmouth, so this is a great year to make some new partners with an emphasis on sustainability," said Matt Elliott, Southern Co-op's Retail Buying & Services Manager who looks after the Local Flavours range.
"There is a lot of talent in Kent as we've seen some amazing producers as sponsors of the Taste of Kent Awards. And this ice cream is just one example of that. We hope everyone loves the taste as much as we do and continues supporting these incredible local producers."
The flavours of Solley's real dairy ice cream being stocked are Traditional Vanilla, Wild Strawberry & Cream, Mint Choc Chip, and Salted Caramel.
They are being stocked at The Co-operative Food stores in Ashford's Loudon Way, Chislehurst's White Horse Hill, Lenham's Faversham Road, Minster's Monkton Road, Seasalter's Faversham Road, St Leonards's 290 Battle Road, and Whitstable's Cromwell Road.
Keith Morrison, Managing Director at Solley's Ice Cream, said: "We are delighted that Solley's Ice Cream has been chosen to be stocked as part of the ‘Local Flavours' range in selected Southern Co-op stores.
"We are proudly a Kent based family business, with a passion for producing great tasting ice cream with excellent provenance and to have this recognised by the team at the Southern Co-op means a great deal to us."
To find out more about the Southern Co-op's Local Flavours range, visit https://southern.coop/what-we-do/local-flavours. Or go visit Solley's Kentish Ice Cream.
