When temperatures rise and the sun comes out, ice cream businesses naturally see an increase in demand. And with more than 100 years’ experience in the industry, we know more than most that our customers want to be in a strong position to capitalise on the business advantages that sunny, dry weather, school holidays, family days out and tourists naturally bring.
At Antonelli, the hard work and preparations begin long before the sunshine even makes an appearance. Preparing our warehouses and teams, learning new products, reflecting on last year, and analysing data are all important parts of our process for mapping out the year ahead and ensuring we can be ready to meet the needs of the ice cream industry when temperatures start to rise.
New developments
From staffing to investment in equipment, we have put significant changes in place to support our continued business growth and prepare for summer 2025.
We’ve grown the team by 30% with some key new appointments. This means we now have more capacity to deal with peaks in demand. We have also been working hard to improve our internal communication between customer service, warehousing and production in the bakery to ensure everything runs like clockwork.
In the bakery, we have made some important improvements and changes to the production line, including adding a second line for manufacturing our most popular cones. While in the warehouse, a new wrapping machine is in operation, reducing the risk of damage to packaging and leading to improved customer satisfaction.
We have even made improvements to our delivery services! With two dedicated Antonelli drivers for direct deliveries, we can build our direct delivery service for specific routes, putting us in direct control of deliveries and service levels.
With these key changes in place, we can adapt quickly and be responsive to any sudden increases in demand, meaning we are ready and able to support our clients during their busiest and most profitable periods.
The benefits of UK based manufacturing
As a UK based manufacturer of a range of cones and wafers, we’re in a unique position to be highly responsive. We pride ourselves on being able to service our UK customers significantly more quickly than overseas manufacturers. Our lead times are short and when compared with the alternative of 2-week lead times for imports, this can make a huge difference to our customers at peak times when demand is high.
There is no compromising on choice either, we boast a wide range of options from dipped and decorated to organic and gluten-free. Our sales teams even have cone samples available, so if you are thinking about offering your customers more choice and wondering which cones to stock this season, do speak to your BRM. They will be happy to talk through our range with you.
At Antonelli we always go the extra mile to fulfil last-minute, emergency orders wherever possible, however, summer is a busy period for everyone in the industry and this includes us!
So, please try to avoid any last-minute emergencies if possible by checking on your stock early and ordering ahead to ensure we can get your goods to you in a timely manner – ideally on or before our cut-off point on Tuesday/Wednesday morning to guarantee delivery in time for the busy weekend.
So, if all this spring sunshine has got you thinking ahead to summer then please get in touch. We’d be happy to discuss your requirements and how we can help you enjoy a successful summer season - without the added stress! We are ready and waiting to support you.
