New owners to revive 127-year-old ice cream brand

Parravani's ceased trading on 29 September and liquidators were appointed on 17 October

An ice cream brand that was at risk of disappearing after 127 years is to be revived by its new owners.

Parravani's Ice Cream, which was founded in Norfolk in 1898 before operations were moved to Beccles, Suffolk, in 2012, entered voluntary liquidation last month.

Best Budz, which bought the Parravani name, confirmed production would be relocated to Leicester but said one former employee would be recruited to drive sales in the East of England.

An accountancy firm said nine workers were being helped to claim outstanding pay, holiday entitlement and redundancy from the government's Redundancy Payments Service (RPS).

The gates of Parravani's ice creamery in Beccles were locked shut after the company went into liquidation on 29 September

Best Budz director Magnus Windsor said: "We are now reviving Parravani's as a luxury Italian-inspired desserts brand, combining the company's long-standing heritage with a refreshed and modern identity.

"Mostly, production will be relocating to Leicester, from where we have access to our existing facilities and logistics network in Birmingham and London.

"We also plan to recruit one of the former Parravani's team members to help drive a local sales revival in East Anglia and retain the authentic craftsmanship that made the brand well-loved."

He added the company intended to position Parravani's as a national brand.

Parravani's struggled to regain its market share after the Covid pandemic and was deemed unviable by its directors following poor sales in recent months

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