Their herd was grazing on the lush grass of Valentia Island. Rich enough to make superb ice-cream, an idea became a reality, when an ice-cream making machine was bought.

“It’s fair to say there was a lot of trial and error at the start, but with three young boys all ice-cream taste testing enthusiasts, it didn’t take me long to find out how to make the ice-cream – as well as find out what the best flavours were,” laughed Caroline.

With the refurbishment of an old milking parlour, Caroline now had her ideal setting, and the frozen goods, to make her shop a new favourite tourist destination on the island.

Valentia Ice-cream opened its doors to the public in the summer of 2006. “At first we sold our ice-cream through the shop to visitors but as the business grew, we branched into distribution, supplying local shops, restaurants and hotels based around Ireland. Then in 2008, we began pasteurising our own milk and selling it along with the ice-cream.”

However, although the artisan ice-cream was very popular, it wasn’t generating enough of an income. “We seemed to be extremely busy and we were selling lots of ice-cream, but our overall profit wasn’t good enough. Our location was a major factor that ate into our profit margin, and in 2016 we decided to cease this side of the business and focus our on-farm sales”.

Change of Direction

It was a big decision to drop the distribution side of the business, but Caroline was not afraid to re-evaluate and change the direction of the business. With distribution markets ceased, Caroline focused on improving the farm shop and her range of products.

“In 2016, I decided to take a career break from my job as a teacher to assist Joe on farm, whilst improving the business with new ideas.” Focusing on selling to the customers who flocked to visit the farm, Caroline knew she had to improve the farm shop and also diversify her menu.

“We built a playground for small children and extended the ice-cream parlour, to create more space for visitors.”

More recently, Caroline has added a craft shop and a visitor’s experience centre, where a video of the farm story and the ice-cream making can be shown. “With the improvement on-farm, the idea was to target school tours, agricultural tourists as well as locals and other families who come to visit the island.”

Improving the Business

“I’m constantly updating old recipes and learning new ones, trying to please customers’ taste buds, but I find classics such as the honeycomb and cookie cream flavours to be most popular.”

Not only does Caroline sell ice-cream in the shop, but also offers pancakes, milkshakes, cakes, sorbets, and much more. And while children feast on the delicious treats she has to offer, parents can also enjoy tea and coffee.

Valentia ice-cream is a real family run business. Whether it’s milking the cows, feeding the calves or making the ice-cream, all the family plays a role.

Based in a rural setting, advertising the shop to new customers is very challenging. “Social media is great in getting the name of the shop out there, but word-of-mouth is definitely the best advertisement.”

Valentia ice-cream has scooped many awards over the years for various products, and it was Caroline’s hard work and businesswoman attitude that caught the eyes of our judges Katherine O’Leary from Irish Country Living and Carolyn O’Hara from FBD Insurance.

Future Income

This innovative on-farm business has the potential to grow and further enhance the family’s income. “We wanted to generate more income from our farm and, with no opportunity to increase the farming side of the business, we decided to add value to the milk. This allowed us to create a viable business that we hope someday our children will be able to take over.”

Caroline and her family are constantly improving – whether it be on advertising, with recipes or with the farm – and this will be key to future success.

“I was shocked to make it this far, and I would just like to thank Irish Country Living and also FBD for running this event, it’s wonderful to see other like-minded women doing exactly what I’m doing. It’s lovely to create, run and have a financially successful business that I love doing and am very proud off,” says Caroline. CL

For further details on Valentia Ice Cream visit www.valentiaisland.ie/food-and-drink/where-to-eat/valentia-island-farmhouse-dairy.