'Happy cows make great–tasting ice cream’ reveals dairy farmer John Drayne after scooping major contract

Draynes Ice Cream, a successful family farm business in Lisburn, has gained its first sales in the Republic of Ireland from a strategic focus on this important marketplace.

The company is now to supply a chain of luxurious hotels and several restaurants especially in the Dublin area.

Draynes has won business for a range of gourmet ice creams and sorbets including retail packs following a decision to explore opportunities identified within the hospitality sector in Dublin and other parts of the Republic.

Experienced dairy farmer John Drayne, who runs the farm’s highly successful ice cream business, says: “We are extremely excited to deliver our products to high-end hospitality customers in what is a new market for us. We look forward to establishing a strong presence in this important region for our luxury ice creams and sorbets made on our farm.

“Our presence at the CATEX trade show in Dublin last month for the catering sector in Ireland was instrumental in giving us excellent exposure to the Republic’s hospitality market. We had the opportunity to connect with potential customers and buyers in person and showcase our ice cream through sampling sessions.

“The new customers signed in Dublin are a direct result of our participation in this immensely important trade show.

“Our strategic plan is to develop further sales in the Republic by working closely with our distributors there to boost our presence in this vibrant market. To achieve this, we will focus on delivering to central Dublin using our own fleet of vans, taking advantage of the easy access to Dublin, in particular, that’s now provided by the M1 motorway.

John, who leads the experienced team processing rich dairy ice cream and sorbets at the modern creamery on the extensive and widely respected family farm, continues: “We will also support our distributors in expanding deliveries to greater Dublin and the rest of the Republic.”

The enterprising company’s current product range in the Republic includes popular five litre ‘Napolis’, as well as retail packs available in 125ml and one litre sizes.

“We take pride in crafting a diverse selection of 13 ice cream flavours and two sorbets, with even more in development. For the retail packs, customers can choose from five different flavours in the 125ml range and six in the one litre range,” adds John.

He grew up on the 300-acre farm and loves working with its 250-strong herd, including around 150 milkers, of Holstein Friesian cattle known for high quality milk output. He monitors the performance and health of the herd are closely using a sophisticated computer system and has developed an experienced team.

John started developing the ice cream business as part of the farm’s successful milk processing and distribution business about eight years ago. The farm has been producing, bottling and distributing milk and cream for almost 100 years in Lisburn, Belfast and other surrounding areas.

Draynes is recognised as being one of the most technologically advanced milk processing businesses on the island of Ireland from an extensive investment in robotic milking systems. A nutritionist regularly monitors their feed and adjusts it accordingly to ensure consistently high quality milk.

Milk is supplied to other local food processors especially the multi award-winning Abernethy Butter of Dromora which hand crafts butter for leading restaurateurs including Heston Blumenthal.

Excellent standards of animal husbandry and hygiene underpin the business and its commitment to ensure a stress-free environment for every animal.

“We maintain a comfortable and hygienic living environment for our herd,” John continues.” Happy cows make great–tasting ice cream. The result is some of the richest, creamiest ice cream imaginable, freshly made every day, in our own modern creamery. We believe this is ice cream the way it’s supposed to be.”

This attention to detail and sharp focus on quality have resulted in two gold stars in the prestigious UK Great Taste Awards especially for its vanilla ice cream.

“Doing everything on-farm means we can get ice cream to customers quicker and fresher, so it has a longer fridge life with less wastage,” he adds.

The ice cream and sorbets are processed, packaged and distributed directly from the farm by its fleet of vans to retailers across Northern Ireland and to leading restaurants in Belfast and other centres.

The farm began producing milk and cream in the 1930s. It was then run by brothers Seamus, Aidan and Dermot who used a horse and cart to deliver the milk around their home, near Lisburn.