The secret of the hills

10:33am Monday 28th July 2008

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ONE of the best-kept secrets of the Chiltern Hills is determined to become one of the top names in UK's ice cream manufacturing.

Beechdean Farmhouse Dairy Ice Cream, based in North Dean, High Wycombe, has been producing ice cream since 1989.

Already one of the leading manufacturers in the country, it supplies to a range of specialist retail outlets, supermarkets, and even airlines.

Andrew and Susie Howard co-founded the business on the 600 acre farm, which produces two million litres of ice cream each year. They took over the milk-producing farm previously run by Susie's family.

The couple wanted to build a working life around the farm, but realised they needed to "add value" to their dairy product.

Mr Howard said they decided on ice cream, due to "a mix of naivete and youthful exuberance," and took a course in it's production.

He said: "We really just wanted to try to develop a liveliehood within the rural environment."

The couple worked as labourers on the farm during the day, milking the cows in the morning and producing the ice cream in the evening.

Mr Howard said: "We had no money, no idea what we were doing, but people liked the ice cream and we learned from our clients."

Among the early customers were The Wycombe Swan theatre, in 1992, and Windsor Theatre, in 1991, which remain clients to this day.

Mr Howard explained the early success put Beechdean on quick and useful learning curve.

He said: "We discovered budgets in about 1995, and that's where the business really started developing in terms of growth."

In 1998 Beechdean's turnover cracked the £1 million mark. Between then and 2003, it was at around £1.5 million, and now turnover exceeds £5 million each year, with more than 40 people employed by the business.

The company supplies chains including as TGI Friday, JD Wetherspoon, and Greene King. It also makes the Queen's ice cream, selling it at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Royal Parks, and supplying many English Heritage sites throughout the country.

The ice cream is even used by airlines including Virgin, Singapore and Emirates.

Mr Howard explained that people were keen to support products with strong ethical credentials. Hesaid: "The whole cow to customer' philosophy has become really important as people demand proof of where their food comes from. It's absolutely massive."

"35 million people ate Beechdean last year, of which probably ten million knew they were eating it because of branded cups."

And there are ambitious plans for the business, which is in the process of setting up a new factory in Cheshire.

But Beechdean still hopes the North Dean site will thrive, as it moves to become, potentially, one of the top five ice cream producers in the UK.

Mr Howard said: "The council's rural steering committee has highlighted lots of potential opportunities for Beechdean to grow within the High Wycombe area. It's hoped that in the near future, working closely with the council and various companies, we can continue to grow Beechdean to become the foremost quality ice cream manufacturer in the UK."

The business now even runs a Beechdean Motorsport, a race team and events company, that began as "a hobby that got out of control" according to Mr Howard, a motoring enthusiast. He competes in the British GT Championship, driving an Aston Martin N24.

But he acknowledged the challenges facing the farming industry.

He said: "From a farming point of view it's just getting harder and harder. We're lucky in that we have added value for our milk."

He added that if farms were to fail there will be a knock on effect on anyone who enjoys the countryside, as fields would be left untended.

He said: "If something is not done there will be no dairy farms in this area. And if there aren't cows in fields, what you will see is wasteland. Part of our objective is to maintain Dairy Farming in the Chiltern Hills."