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FEBRUARY
“Completely made up, totally random – but
aren’t the best things in life?!” says 27-year-
old Kitty Sadler when asked about where the
name for her family’s ice-cream company,
Snugburys, came from. The Cheshire-based
business was founded by Chris and Cheryl
Sadler in their kitchen in 1986, looking to
impress friends and family – but is now run by
their three daughters: Hannah, Kitty and Cleo.
The trio took over two years ago, with
Hannah stepping in as Director, Kitty taking
over sales and marketing and Cleo heading up
production – though Kitty says there’s a lot of
mucking in across all areas of business.
From small beginnings – Chris and Cheryl
made their first batch of ice cream using a
Kenwood mixer – Snugburys’ ice cream shop
in Nantwich is now visited by over 200,000
people a year, and the brand offers over 40
different varieties, including flavours such
as Turkish Delight, Mint Oreo Blitz, Toffee
Crumble and Crème Brûlée.
Kitty considers Snugburys’ USP to be that
many of the ingredients used in the different
ice-cream flavours are made on-site by hand.
“We feel it’s really important to go that
extra mile,” she explains.
Going above and beyond is important
in a market that’s becoming increasingly
competitive – and the Sadler sisters know
this all too well. “We’ve been going for 32
years,” says Kitty, “and in recent times
we’ve seen more dairy farmers diversify into
ice-cream production than ever before.”
The company uses fresh cream to make its
products, and has an on-site factory that’s
powered by green energy – something that’s
important to both the current management
team and the founders. “We have very little
waste and also have 200 solar panels on site
BUSINESS
TIME TO REFLECT
Kitty Sadler and her sisters Hannah and Cleo inherited
their parents’ ice-cream business, Snugburys, two years
ago and are working hard to expand its reach by creating
increasingly-imaginative flavours, showcasing them at events
around the UK and embracing modern marketing tools
Sister act
to run the factory in the summer,” explains
Kitty. “We really like to do our bit to help the
environment when and wherever we can.”
The team at Snugburys now consists
of over 25 employees, working 363 days
a year to deliver quality product to both
retail and wholesale customers. Kitty says
the wholesale arm of the business makes
up about half of the revenue, and some
wholesale customers have been buying
Snugburys’ ice cream for over 25 years.
Today’s dominance of social media is an
invaluable platform for Kitty, Hannah and Cleo
to promote the brand.
“We really enjoy connecting directly
with our customers and keeping them up to
date with what is going on at Snugburys,”
says Kitty. “We are very transparent as a
company, and we think social media is a great
platform for us to demonstrate that.”
A more guerrilla form of marketing,
however, comes in several different shapes
and sizes – and has become something of a
tradition over the past decade and a half. Each
year since 2002, Snugburys have proudly
erected a hay sculpture in one of the farm’s
fields near the A51 Chester Road. Over time,
these have become more elaborate, from four
hay bales stacked on top of each other and
decorated to resemble Commonwealth Games
medal winners (2002) to last year’s 38ft-
tall replica Peter Rabbit, complete with blue
jacket and a carrot. Other sculptures, which
are overseen by family friend and professional
engineer Mike Harper, include a huge Dalek
to celebrate
Doctor Who
’s 50th anniversary.
The sculptures have brought media attention
from the likes of ITV
News at 10
and the
Daily
, and Kitty thinks it’s a great way to “cut
through the noise” of a crowded market.
Crowded, perhaps, but often rewarding,
too. “We’re only as good as our last ice
cream,” she says, “but the best part of the
job is that we’re making a product which
people love. Who doesn’t love ice cream?!”
www.snugburys.co.uk“From small beginnings – Chris and Cheryl made their first batch of ice cream using a Kenwood
mixer – Snugburys ice cream shop is visited by over 200,000 people a year...”