Following recent reports claiming that consumer demand for premium and super-premium ice cream presents a viable avenue for SME and start-up manufacturers to be successful in a monopolised UK ice cream market, ROKK Processing, the award winning manufacturer of high-end ice cream manufacturing machinery, warns that to create a premium product, relying on quality ingredients is not enough and the manufacturing processes are equally as important.

The reports, that also mention regional products and ingredients as accompanying factors that should be taken into consideration, highlights the true extent of the monopolisation that just two major manufacturers have on the UK market. Anglo-Dutch giant, Unilever, is predicted to hold around 40 per cent whilst UK based R&R isn’t too far behind with around 30 per cent. Of the remaining 30 per cent, it’s claimed that up to 20 per cent is held by medium sized manufacturers with no specialisation bar mass production, leaving just 10 per cent to be split between the SMEs and start-ups.

With this minimal share available, defining and creating a specialisation and market niche is essential if smaller players are going to be able to not only enter, but survive the industry.

Phil Darvell, managing director of ROKK Processing, commented: “Remove the major players from the picture and a specialised market worth an estimated £120 million per year is left to be divided between around 100 manufacturers. If that was divided equally then there would perhaps be enough to go around, but it isn’t. As a result the reports are very right in saying that manufacturers need to find a specialism if they’re to enter and survive the tough environment and, if the consumer wants quality then fulfilling that requirement is a good place to start when defining a niche. However, quality isn’t just achieved by using great ingredients – it needs to be handled, mixed and frozen in the appropriate manner and that requires the appropriate machinery.”   

ROKK not only prides itself on the quality of materials and components used in making its machines, but also on the quality of the end product that its machines are able to process. It understands that for ingredients to combine to create a premium or super-premium ice cream, they need to be treated with care and worked in a way that suits the ingredient to guarantee that the very best is extracted and, each achieves its individual purpose.

As such, each ROKK machine in its range of freezers, fillers and feeders as well as its ice cream pasteuriser and mix plant are all constructed on a 100 per cent stainless steel over-sized chassis to reduce vibrations, noise pollution and guarantee long-lasting reliability. The inner working parts are a unique blend of stainless and special alloys to allow different sectors to efficiently and effortlessly work together. Here, only the very best, industry-recognised, components are used to guarantee that each machine is of the highest quality and extremely reliable. The combination provides the platform required to get the most from the ingredients and create the premium ice cream that the market craves.

On an individual basis, ROKK incorporates numerous innovative yet proven mechanical devises to ensure that each not only completes its task but, does it in such a manner that is beneficial to the production line and the end product.

Phil continued: “We’re not here to be the cheapest, that has never been our aim, but we do offer the best return on investment and a ROKK Industrial ice cream machine will certainly increase the chance of survival by providing the necessary standard of equipment needed to create a specialist, premium product. You could say we’ve found our niche in quality and as a result, now provide the tools so others can find theirs.”

For more information about ROKK Processing or its range of ice cream machinery, please visit www.rokk-processing.com or call +44 (0)1455 220 179.

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