CONVERSATIONS WITH: GWELLA DAIRY

The story of the past

Katie was raised on a dairy farm that her family owned located in St Martin, near Helston in Cornwall, which is where her business, Gwella Dairy, is located. Katie’s family is currently milking approximately 220 cows. They also have Katie’s growing pedigree jersey dairy cows (the Gwella Girls!) which are used to make Ice cream.

This year Katie is the first to have her own home-bred pedigree jersey, to join the herd of milkers in order to expand the business of ice cream.

Gwella decided to use Jersey cows because they produce very rich and creamy milk when compared to other breeds. This produces delicious Ice cream.

Katie was given the name Gwella since it’s the Cornish word meaning “best,” and therefore, the name means “best ice cream.”

She was keen to keep the ice cream business apart from the farm and also have it linked to Cornwall and felt that the name was appropriate and simple to pronounce. It also is exactly what it says in the “tin.”

The journey

Katie began making ice cream in order to improve the value of the product that was made on the family farm for a long time. She enjoys selling directly to the consumer and especially at retail, where she is able to experience the pleasure her product provides directly.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in agriculture at Harper Adams University, she first shifted away from the dairy industry to Agronomy of vegetables. Katie returned home to her dairy farm family in the year 2020 with experience in dairy and the desire to grow and market excellent local farm products.

Every dairy product was looked at (and isn’t completely eliminated at the moment! ) however, due to her prior experience in Devon in the field of ice cream production, she decided to stay with ice cream as there is a rapid turnover of production as well as great opportunities to expand into Cornwall in the tourism sector.

Six of Katie’s ice cream flavors have been awarded “Taste of the West” Gold awards. Three of them each in 2021 as well as three more in 2022 which is a staggering feat for a brand-new company!

With Katie having two daughters and two young daughters, it was crucial for her to ensure that the company could be run in harmony with the needs of her family. At first, the idea was to market wholesale ice cream; however, with Covid restrictions in place when the company first began, it was not an option to sell wholesale at the time.

At times, customers visited the farm while Katie was making the ice cream and seeking to purchase some. Only takeaway sales were permitted; Katie began to sell the ice cream from an open hatch to takeaway customers at the farm. After she was swamped with customers, she quickly needed another person to help, so she hired Betty to assist in ensuring Katie could continue to create the Ice Cream.

The hatch has since grown into a tiny cafe which offers delicious coffee and an area for kids to play. It also has a classic wooden swing suspended from beams.

Gwella’s ice cream can also be available to local stores and restaurants wholesale throughout the entire year.

Katie says she’s had to face many challenges since she started her business, one major one being the pressure of juggling her family life as well as the business. With two children in the midst, she says the summer months can be challenging and can trigger severe “mum guilt” as it is the busiest time of year to eat ice cream; however, her daughters are not in school, and she feels she ought to be doing things with her children.

She stated that she would be delighted for the girls to join the company in the future.

Other issues she’s faced include having enough money as an entrepreneur to be able to accomplish all she would like to accomplish, as well as establishing brand awareness and social presence on social media.

Moving forward

Katie is keen to expand the company and has intriguing plans to enable her to serve many more people with her ice cream via the sell-by-scoop part of the operation. She has been granted a slot on the Royal Cornwall Show this year and will also attend this year’s Porthleven along with the Falmouth Food Festival.