A Cornish ice cream maker has announced a new contract with a prestigious retailer.

Callestick Farm Ice Cream managed to scoop the contract with Marks & Spencer's (M&S) last autumn with the aim to fulfil and extend their Cornish dairy ice cream range.

Two new flavours, rhubarb and apple crumble, have been created for the retailer.

Sebastian Parker, managing director and owner of Callestick Farm, said: “In all my years of Callestick Farm Ice Cream, this is by far the most challenging - but also the most - exciting leap the business has taken!”

The Parker family has been making ice cream at the farm near Truro since 1989, when the introduction of milk quotas meant an alternative source of income was needed to keep the business going.

Since then, they have gone from strength to strength with the business and team growing over the past 33 years.

Operations director Ben Parker, who has overseen the development, said: “We couldn’t believe it when the contract was confirmed, we knew this was going to change the business over night and drive us forward. I am looking forward to what the future holds.”

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The M&S contract has created much excitement but also plenty of work to be done on the farm, with production and freezer space being the main concern.

After months of hard work through a cold and wet winter, the factory size has now increased by 60 per cent and more local staff have been taken on to keep up with the upcoming demand.

The farm now has a newly installed spiral freezer, which has taken the lengthy overnight freezing process in the blast freezer to a now speedy 60-minute journey on a freezer come helter-skelter.

This new method of freezing means a greater volume of product can be produced and of even smoother consistency than before.

“We couldn’t have got where we are today without our longstanding and loyal customer support which is much appreciated,” said David Jeffs, sales director.

“It’s a win-win going forward with the new development to the factory and production line, we will now be able to offer an even better product with a more extensive range of flavours!

"This is something the family and team deserve and I am so pleased to have been a part of it.”