The Valencian company Helados Estiu last year reached 44 million litres of ice cream sold, a turnover of 138 million euros and a net profit of 6.7 million. The average workforce in 2023 was 473 employees while in 2022 it reached 312 jobs, so the growth in employment was 161 people, an increase of 51%. In the middle of the season, the number of employees reached 450 in 2022, while last year it reached 604 employees.

Helados Estiu, on the other hand, in its commitment to sustainability, has managed to reduce water consumption in the manufacture of each ice cream by 19%, and has reached, in two phases that began in 2021, 8,273 square metres of photovoltaic plants in both its Cheste and Ribarroja del Turia factories. The Valencian ice cream maker has not stopped investing and has invested more than 34 million euros in the last five years. It is also worth mentioning that, in the international market, 4 products have been distinguished with the GREAT TASTE 2023 award, being present in 27 countries.

In this 2024 campaign and after the success achieved with Dochi Cheescake, Dochi Banoffee, with banana and biscuit as protagonists, has been added. Both are sold exclusively in Mercadona. They are the result of the joint work of the R&D&I department of Helados Estiu and Mercadona, who analyse and try to improve existing products on a daily basis and are attentive to what the consumer is looking for (El Jefe). In addition to this launch, there is the Bombón Mango Blanco, a delicious fusion of creamy coconut ice cream with mango sauce and passion fruit, all covered in white chocolate with coconut chips and grated coconut.

Helados Estiu is clearly committed to maintaining sustainable, economic, environmental, social and good governance growth. In a digital environment, this means new challenges for the company, which has planned an investment of more than 26 million euros for the next three years, focused on improving and increasing capacities, innovation and digitalisation. The continuous training of all the professionals who work at Helados Estiu is essential to achieve the proposed goals. Internal and external training, in this sense schools like EDEM are an advantage and value for the company.

Among the objectives of the Valencian company is to achieve a positive impact on all the stakeholders that surround it, as well as being sustainable every day, being respectful, responsible and acting in an ethical and humane way in order to achieve more prosperity, wealth, innovation and progress for all. In addition, Helados Estiu participates actively and in different ways helping to increase entrepreneurship, innovation and the improvement of society as a whole through EDEM, ETNOR, ADEIT and the LAB Mediterráneo Foundation, as well as initiatives such as KmZERO in which Estiu collaborates in programmes such as Gastrogenius, for the training of the younger generations in innovation, sustainability and healthy habits, or in the Venturing Programme for open innovation where an ecosystem of collaboration between corporations, startups and investments is generated, tackling global problems in the food industry with specific solutions for companies.

Report by ’24/7 Valencia’ team 

Article copyright ’24/7 Valencia’