Gloucestershire ice cream seller says costs are 'worrying'

Sav Gino is trying to keep his costs down, but says it is proving difficult

An ice cream vendor said the rise in fuel prices and ingredients are causing concern in the industry.

Sav Gino, owner of Gloucestershire mobile ice cream business Sav's Super Whippy, said he used to be able to do a full week on one tank of fuel but "can't do that anymore".

"We really don't want to put the costs onto the consumer," he added.

Mr Gino opened his business in 2012, and is looking into ways of saving costs due to rising prices.

He has converted some of his vans to make them fully electric.

When at a stationary location, he can now park up and run on a 16-amp plug, which is plugged into the mains.

Ms Salter said the current cost of fuel and stock are making business "challenging"

He said he and his partner Natasha Salter pay a small fee to plug the vans in but it eliminates fuel charges and improves the experience for customers.

He said any help in costs can be passed onto customers, because "if they can't afford to buy an ice cream then we can't sell much of course".

His partner Ms Salter, owner of iCandy Bristol, said her suppliers had put up their costs "a couple of times" already this year.

Ms Salter said the ingredients they use to make their ice creams are all going up in price

She said she was trying to not respond by putting up her prices, and wants to reward her regular customers.

"An ice cream is a treat so its not an essential... and unfortunately ice creams [will be] something people are budgeting out of their weekly payments," she said.

Ms Mould said ice creams were a huge part of her childhood and wants her daughter to experience that too

Customer Melissa Mould, 32, said she went to Burnham-On-Sea, in Somerset, last weekend and bought four ice creams for £20.

"Your cheap day out is no longer a cheap day out is it?" she said.

"It makes a huge difference if ice creams cost less but it would be a huge loss if ice cream businesses were no longer around."

The cost of dry goods like cones and flakes are also going up

Henry Nurkowski, from business support association the Ice Cream Alliance, said if rising costs occurred in the winter it would be "catastrophic".

"The summer always helps and when the sun shines there is the chance of making a profit," he said.

"But if the trade changed or if this was in the middle of winter i would see quite a few people finding it very difficult to survive," he added.