HUSBAND and wife team Ian and Lesley Buxton diversified their farm business into dairy ice cream with a single ice cream van in 1989.

Yorvale Ice Cream has grown to win awards and big contracts, supplying farm shops and tourist attractions to the big supermarkets and Saga Cruise Ships.

In the last year, turnover has grown by 16.3 per cent and profits have grown 24 per cent. But not resting on their laurels, the couple is investing in new processes to improve margins and raise standards.

Lesley said: “We have recently instigated a series of environmental initiatives including installing a reed bed for recycling waste water and a heat recovery system and have reduced our reliance on cardboard by 80 per cent – all of which will benefit both the environment and our bottom line. We are also investigating the possibility of harnessing energy from cow manure.”

The business is one of only three per cent of all food manufacturing sites in the UK to achieve a Grade A zero non-conformities certification against the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Grade 5 and was the first ice cream manufacturer in the North of England to gain Red Tractor certification for its milk and cream.

Last year, it increased its milk usage by 14 per cent and intends to double capacity in its factory. it has also recently invested £30,000 in a new mobile unit which sells ice cream at York Minster. Lesley said: “We engage with the local community by supporting initiatives including York Festival of Chocolate and have developed a schools pack that we use to show the health and lifestyle benefits of healthy eating and to promote discussions about the environmental issues in food production.”