Windy summer sees ice cream brand hit renewable energy record

One of the UK’s leading ice cream producers has celebrated its most successful year in renewable energy production.

Wet and windy weather across the UK may dampen the public’s appetites for ice cream, but Mackie’s of Scotland saw its ice cream sales increase year on year while also generating a record amount of renewable energy from the windier weather.

Last financial year – from June 2023 to May 2024 – Mackie’s of Scotland generated more than 10 million kWh of green energy, using it to produce its ice cream and chocolate products and exporting any excess to the national grid.

Making use of just a quarter of the total generated, the business exported 7.5 million kWh back to the national grid, the equivalent of powering the electricity required on average for 41,000 homes for one month, contributing to Scotland’s national drive towards sustainability.

The impressive results come after the business has invested more than £6.5 million in renewable energy infrastructure at its family farm over the past decade.

This diversified renewable energy portfolio on the family farm includes four wind turbines, a bio-mass energy plant, a 10-acre solar farm and a low-carbon refrigeration system to reduce the energy required in making its ice cream.

The energy generated over the 23/24 financial year was a record figure for the Aberdeenshire farm.

Stuart Common, Managing Director at Mackie’s, said: “Renewable energy has been central to our ethos of producing world-class ice cream and chocolate with minimal impact on the environment.

We’re proud that our investment in wind, solar, and biomass energy has enabled us to achieve a milestone year in energy generation, contributing over 7.5 million kWh back to the national grid last financial year alone. This achievement reflects our commitment to sustainability and the importance of renewable energy to the future of our business.”

The farm’s pioneering ‘sky to scoop’ approach integrates every stage of production, from traditional dairy farming to packaging production, all carried out on-site at the family farm.

The renewable energy produced powers these operations, demonstrating the company’s longstanding dedication to becoming renewably self-sufficient and to environmental responsibility.

This level of energy independence has helped position the company as a leader in sustainable production within Scotland’s food and drink industry.

Stuart added: “An underlying goal of farming and family businesses is to pass things on in a better state than you found them, and renewable energy has long been an important part of that vision at Mackie’s.

Looking to the future, we’re keen to explore additional ways to integrate sustainable practices into everything we do, from developing our products to how we operate.”

As well as being the largest independently owned ice cream manufacturer in the UK, Mackie’s is one of the UK’s top ice cream brands. The company’s one litre Traditional tub is among the best-selling premium ice cream products in the UK.

Mackie’s produces all its ice cream using fresh milk and cream on its fifth-generation family dairy farm, Westertown, near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire.