April sun gives Mackie’s ice cream sales a warm glow – Daily Business

Warm April weather helped deliver a record-breaking month for ice cream maker Mackie’s of Scotland.

The company sold 1,564,837 litres of ice cream, its most successful month on record and surpassing the previous monthly total of 1,534,746 litres, achieved during the UK’s hottest June in 2023.

This record-breaking achievement comes as the UK experiences unseasonably warm temperatures, with Scotland recording average highs of 19°C this past week – a significant increase from the 14°C average during the same period last year.

The UK as a whole has seen temperatures soar, with April 2025 averaging 5°C hotter than April 2024, creating perfect conditions for ice cream consumption nationwide.

Mackie’s sales were also helped by its broader distribution, with its Raspberry Ripple flavour making its debut in 255 Sainsbury Local’s stores last month, and the most widely distributed raspberry ripple product at Sainsbury’s. The brand’s larger 2-litre Traditional flavour tubs have also seen gains in Tesco and Morrisons.

Will Dixon, Mackie’s head of sales, said: “The weather last spring and summer was wet and windy, and this April’s sunshine has given the UK a taste of brighter days to come, which they were clearly more than ready to enjoy with a bowl of ice cream.”

Mackie’s recent sales success has seen the Aberdeenshire firm become the fourth most popular premium ice cream brand in the UK, and retaining its spot at Scotland’s top seller.

Over the past year, Mackie’s ice cream was purchased by around 25% of households in Scotland, and 8% (up from 6%) of all UK households, making it the most popular family-owned producer (KantarWorldPanel).

Mackie’s produces all of its ice cream using fresh milk and cream on its fifth-generation family dairy farm, Westertown, near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire. The farm is fitted with four large wind turbines, a 10-acre solar farm and a low-carbon refrigeration system, resulting in it producing twice as much energy as it uses.