Aberdeenshire-based Mackie's of Scotland has reported that it sent 150,000 litres of its ice cream last year to workers on oil rigs who wanted a 'taste of home'.
The firm estimated that more than 1.5 million scoops of Mackie’s ice cream were consumed at sea in 2018, with its products being served in many oil rig restaurants.
Mackie’s said it supplies its ice cream to firms such as Entier, a large catering company serving the offshore industry in Scotland.
It has made ice cream with milk and cream from its own herds at its family farm in Westertown since 1986. It said the recipe for its 'Traditional' flavour – the most popular take-home ice cream in Scotland – has not changed since then.
Mackie's said that, unlike the majority of its competitors in the UK ice cream market, it is an independent company and is now the fifth biggest ice cream brand in Britain.
The firm added that it grew 13% last year thanks to record-breaking sales and said it currently has 22% of the Scottish premium ice cream market.
Stuart Common, sales director at Mackie’s, said: “We’ve had a lot of feedback to say the people working offshore love our ice cream. It’s fantastic to know that our products are so popular with people in Scotland that they’re even being shipped out to sea.
“We know that offshore workers can be away from home for weeks on end and recognise that it’s important they have some home comforts.”
Mackie’s said it produces over 10 million litres of ice cream every year and distributes to the UK and worldwide.
