Specialist ice cream manufacturer gg’s is set to provide even more customers with a taste of Italy after purchasing state-of-the-art machinery to slash production times and boost output.
Local business owner Keith Jones opened the original gg’s parlour in 2019 from a pub they had recently purchased in Penclawdd after spotting a gap in the market for ice cream shops in the idyllic seaside peninsula of Gower.
gg’s subsequent success pushed the team to grow their operations, moving to an off-site production unit. From here, the business decided it needed to progress to a continuous production model and bought four new specialist machines with a £70,000 hire purchase funding facility from Lloyds Bank.
The new machinery set, which includes an ingredient feeder and ripple pump, has slashed production times while improving the quality. The same amount of gelato it used to take gg’s a day to produce, now takes just one hour. The set up ensures a consistent quality of output by uniformly distributing toppings and sauces throughout the ice cream – all so that customers can have a great experience.
The company already supplies around 200 small businesses in South Wales – including CK’s convenience shops and restaurants – but is currently in the process of securing a SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) certification so that it can distribute its products to larger customers and even supermarkets.
To enable the dramatic increase of its production speed, gg has recently hired two new staff for its sales and marketing team with an aim of building brand awareness and attracting household name clients.
Toby Link-Jones, operations manager at gg’s, said: “The quality of our gelato has always been our number one priority. That means customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth recommendation has been key to our success so far. However, to realise our ambitions of national sales and wider brand awareness, we knew we had to ramp up production to broaden our reach and support our recent marketing hires.
“This new machinery has allowed us to increase output, improve taste and become more energy efficient all at once. We’re excited to bring even more customers a scoop of Italian flavour and sunshine with our gelato.”
Jonathan Richards, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s great to see tangible results already materialising from our support for gg’s, with each of the new machines carrying out a specific integral purpose in the process of gelato making. Boosting production will facilitate stronger growth in gg’s marketing department and allow it to continue on its impressive financial trajectory.
“As gg’s uses the extra time and money provided by the new technology to target new growth areas, including selling to supermarkets and boosting sustainability credentials, Lloyds stands ready to support another British success story.”
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