Behind the scenes of the Ice Cream Man.

The Ice Cream man, the figure who serves whippy ice cream from a Van that plays a happy tune. Always has a smile and in some case (like me) can talk forever!
But what most people forget, is that The Ice cream man is still a working citizen. A man trying to run a business in a tough industry in a country which isn't doing him much favors.
This is what I ask you, the public to remember, that running an Ice Cream Van is no easy task, its a job we do everyday of the week, even if were not on the streets, we are at events, or in the office. there is no such thing as a day off when running your own business.

 Many people have mixed views about us ice Cream traders but don't forget this is our only income, its what we do and who we are. Its not a hobby its a way of life, and if we do not do it, we don't have food on the table. Everything is currently against our trade, all because a few bad traders have to spoil the good name of the Ice Cream man. Most of us are good, clean and proper. Even the council's work against us. Did you know Ice Cream Vans are being banned from Parks, fields, council estates, schools, and now even named roads. How they expect us to sell Ice Cream I don't know, especially now we have more laws about times we can trade and how often our chimes can ring...and what volume! The Ice Cream industry is not an easy one and with the 2012 London (LEZ) emission Zone even more Ice Cream vans will go out of business.

So next time the Ice Cream Van is round your way, remember, this is someone career, and if they run a good van and deserve it, don't worry about spending a pound or two. I know times are hard for us all, but small businesses like the Ice Cream Van are what is keeping Britain on its feet. We are trying our best to serve what is now a rare treat, soft serve whippy ice cream which can be found only in a few places, and it something that all ages love and have done for many many years.

Ice Cream Men are real people running a honest difficult career.

Ice Cream Van Hire Latest News. Truth about the Business and Industry

Looking for an Ice Cream Van? Lets be honest, everyone knows how terrible certain ice cream vans can be, many do not hold any licence, hygiene certificates or anything of the sort. Too many cow-boy ice cream traders are at large harming this industry and destroying the good reputation us quality Ice Cream Vans build. Too often we are rescuing worried brides and grooms because an unprofessional ice cream trader has let them down last minute, how some traders can do that to a wedding, someones special day, I don't know.

Many people believe that with an Ice Cream Van its just "jump in and go" well I'm here to tell those people that is far from the truth. Dealing with fresh product everyday is a challenge in its own, handling fresh whippy, cones to even bread rolls for hot dogs. Everything has to be monitored, temperature checked and of course CLEAN.
Everyday Our Ice Cream Vans are cleaned from floor to ceiling, inside fridges, whippy machines and everything inside the vans. We run our vans like a professional kitchen should, efficient, clean and properly.

At Roberts Ices we believe in supplying only the very best, legal and safe Ice Cream. Which is what we think every Ice Cream Van should be doing. Many times our customers have come to our vans to tell us about other ice cream vans they have seen and the filthy habits these vans have, which makes us sad that this is happening.
The ice Cream Van has always been a positive place to be, child friendly, and a happy safe environment. Unfortunately this is not the case with many other companies and they know who they are.
But please remember we are not all the same, there are some very good Ice Cream Van Hire Companies out there still and Roberts Ices are proud to be one of them.

Many may frown upon what I am about to say but I am not afraid to speak my mind. The highest percentage of The Ice cream Industry is now owned by foreigners, immigrants who have come to England looking for easy work. This is where things go horribly wrong and hygiene laws are broken and Ice Cream Vans and the industry is frowned upon. Many customers say they would like to be served by someone who can actually speak English, now, I am not blaming the industries fall upon the foreigners there are many reasons why Ice Cream Vans can be an uneasy place to visit especially in London. I also know for a fact that there are many foreigners in our country who have done a fantastic job both in the Ice Cream Trade and others and they too know who they are and I am proud to be friendly with these companies.

Many years ago Ice Cream was much different, but our industry has to move with the times as much as any other, prices of our ingredients go up and up every year and now supermarkets have decided to try and kill us off too. Please, many of us are good people and run good Ice Cream Vans, understand we cannot do our lollies at prices the same as supermarkets because its impossible for us. The Price of Milk and Sugar also means Whippy is far more expensive that ever before so to carry on serving this rare and tasty treat, we need to charge for it. OK, many companies again in London or the coast will try to totally rip you off and this is when yes you shouldn't have to pay stupid prices. Us normal Ice Cream Traders will give you the best prices we can but remember this, we too have families to feed, houses to keep and lives to live. This is OUR living and income its all we have.

Roberts Ices would like to assure customers and everyone else we do run a top of the range company we have more than the required certificates and licences. We serves fresh food everyday and at good prices. We love this industry, help us love it for what it should be.

Ice Cream Favourites competition - The result / start of 2012

 2011 saw many much loved products served from Roberts Ices Ice Cream Vans, but we have one clear winner. I present to you the WINNER of  FAVOURITE PRODUCT 2011

                                         BUBBLEGUM KNICKERBOCKER GLORY
A tall cup lined with delicious bubblegum flavoured sauce, filled with Fresh Whippy Ice Cream, A cadbury's flake and your choice of Sprinkles, sherbets, chocolate dust or Nuts. 

Congratulations to the Bubblegum Knickerbocker glory - I think this will be a good competitor in 2012

The 2012 season is upon us and Roberts Ices are once again ringing those chimes, and summer is on the way! We have once again updated our product range as many of you know, so we have been conducting an ongoing survey to see whats your favourite product is from our new selection.
We have so far had a good start to all of the new Ice Creams, but we have one which is leading the way. 

The current favourite Ice Cream of 2012 is......... The Marshmallow Cone!
Soft Serve Fresh Whippy Ice Cream upon a crisp golden tulip cone, dipped and rolled in fluffy marshmallows along with any flavoured sauce of your choice

Roberts Ices will continue to bring you updates on the New Products and we shall see which will be the winner of FAVOURITE PRODUCT 2012

ARTICLE. 2012 London Emission Zone (LEZ): The affect on Vehicles and Businesses

In 2008 the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) was launched, the target, to provide cleaner air for London. Pollution can cause dramatic health affects and even though London’s air is improving, 2012 sees a massive step into improving the pollution problem even further. ‘LEZ’ has been targeted mainly at the roads, and what better way to control people and their vehicles, the old fashioned Penalty Fine. A genius scheme to decrease pollution and most of all, take people’s money. Well as of January 2012 this gets worse, the new emissions Zone is in and it is bigger and angrier than before.

3^rd of January is when the beginning of the end starts for many companies and residence with mini buses, Lorries, vans and larger vehicles older than 2002. Those accepted must contain Euro 3 engines.  It goes to the ridiculous extent that even road gritters, fire engines, snow ploughs and recovery vehicles. Where does the madness end? So if a house is burning down and people’s lives are at risk, can’t older fire engine go out to save them without receiving a large fine? Could it be that extreme?

Today, we took to the streets and instead of interviewing lorry drivers or salt gritters we chose to find a small business and get their point of view and find out just how hard this emission Zone increase has affected them. So who better to choose than the third most loved thing is Britain...The Ice Cream Vans.
The first ice cream vans appeared in the thirties, by the sixties there were over 20,000 ice cream vans ringing their chimes and serving traditional soft serve whippy ice cream we still love today. But after high fuel costs, increase prices on sugar and milk, and the emission zone have brought that healthy number down to only 5,000. This for an industry as a whole is catastrophic and it hasn’t stopped yet.

We all remember ice cream vans from our childhoods, the uncontrollable excitement when we heard the chimes and would pester mum for money. But for how much longer will those chimes continue to ring? With councils enforcing very strict rules on Ice Cream vans is what is forcing many out of their jobs. Limits on chimes which can only be played for seconds and can’t be replayed for minutes longer, a volume limit too is in place and no chimes after certain times. This varies on each council.  With all these Playstations and Xbox consoles, how can ice creams vans expect to be heard over those when their chimes are forced to be short and quiet? Ice cream vans which are accepted are those with the Euro 3 engine but those who own Ford Vans need to do their research as Ford begun using these euro 3 engines earlier than others. The first Euro 5 engine Ice Cream Van was built this year By Whitby Morrison. 
Ice Cream Vans are now being banned from parks, fields, schools and even now council estates. It’s no wonder many struggle to keep the business open.
So what of the classic ice cream vans, the vintage van? As these are obviously older, the people of London and other cities may never get a chance to see these beautiful creations. The barrier of the M25 is the limit, the fortress wall, in which entering with a van or vehicle older than requirements will land you a massive £100 fine.  As if we didn’t feel watched enough my electronic eyes.

We have interviewed Robert, Owner of Ice Cream Company, Robert’s Ices:

How bigger impact do you think the new LEZ law will have upon your business?

“Well, a very big impact. Many Ice cream vans will be going out of business because of this, which is a shame because I love this industry. It’s what I have grown up with and its what I know best.”

Are there solutions to the new LEZ laws?

There is a filter that can be bought, a diesel particulate filter (DPF) which firstly cost a good £2500+VAT along with the constant cleaning and maintenance. But, I know a few people who have had these installed and from what they say, these filters do not even work properly. So we pay all this money and go through the hassle of having them fitted and certified (for even more money) and then we still pay the £100 per day fine because the filters fail. Luckily for us we only keep vans much newer than the LEZ limit so we do not need these filters.

Do you think many other businesses will be affected as much as the ice cream industry?

Of course, so many businesses of all kinds use transit vans, the work horse of Britain as my father calls them. So many will not even be able to work in London anymore. Not everyone can afford to buy new Vans. What is very annoying though, is the black taxis of London, they run on worse emissions than ice cream vans yet they are excused from fines or having to make adjustments to their cars. In my opinion they shouldn’t be allowed to do it.

One final question. What do you feel is the future for Ice Cream Vans?

Well, all I know is here at Roberts Ices we are going to carry on as we are. Keep doing the right thing, serving a good ice cream and value for money and continue to provide that family run business service. I think if the Ice Cream industry is to survive, more Vans need to provide a good service, many times we have had to step in to save a wedding because another company hasn’t turned up as they have found something they feel more profitable or something. Its things like this which really harm our industry but were not all like that. We run our vans properly like a catering company should, health and hygiene is first, constant cleaning and risk assessments. Fresh food all year round served with a smile. Of course we do some street rounds which we build up many loyal customers and also gain many friends too. But who knows, the future of Ice Cream Vans is never certain, things could get better as promised by the current political party.  We shall see.

After the interview we had the chance to sample some of Roberts Ices fresh whippy and very nice is was. It is nice to see a clean and well kept Ice Cream Van which I would feel safe to buy ice cream for my kids from.
Ice Cream Vans are now not a thing of the summer, but an all year round industry. Forced out into the snow and Ice by these council rules and regulations, Ice cream traders are dressing in many layers to trade just to make ends meet. Ice Cream vans were always a happy place, and we can only hope they continue to come down are streets serving that rare treat. It is not just London either, most cities around the UK are now considering these Low emission zone rules.  Many more small businesses and industries may be hurt deeply in times to come.
Supermarkets are too what puts great strain on the ice cream vans, bringing out ice lollies and ice cream now even sorbet at prices ice cream vans just can’t challenge. But there is something the supermarkets can’t do, and that is traditional soft whippy ice cream and that’s what I look forward to every summer. 

To view Roberts Ices please visit www.robertsicecream.co.uk