The Valencian company Helados Estiu closed the 2022 financial year with 37 million litres of ice cream sold, a turnover of 106 million euros and a net profit of 4.1 million euros. The workforce in 2022 reached 450 employees in the middle of the campaign. Highlights of the current campaign include the Mini Bombón Biscuit ice cream and the Mini Choco Cream sandwich, which are now sold exclusively in Mercadona. Quality, sustainability, innovation, ethics, responsibility and the search for excellence are the cornerstones of its business strategy.

The human team has been fundamental in guaranteeing supply, food safety, the quality of its products and the sustainable development of the company.  The Valencian ice cream maker has increased its workforce in the last two years and has gone from 266 employees in 2021 to 331 employees in 2022, reaching 450 employees in the middle of the season.

In 2019 it began exporting and wao mochi can now be bought in more than 20 countries, demonstrating the importance of investment in Research and Development. Comparing the data with the previous year, the increase in turnover was 21.5%, from 88 million euros in 2021 to 106 million euros in 2022. Production has increased from 33 million in 2021 to 37 million litres of ice cream. An investment of 31 million euros has been consolidated over the last three years.

Despite the increase in production and turnover, profit has contracted by 24% as 2022 proved to be a year of continued challenges, a highly stressed raw material market with constantly rising prices, as well as a steady increase in energy and logistics costs.  Despite the difficulties, Mercadona’s supplier has not stopped investing, and has worked, and continues to do so, to pass on these cost increases to the consumer as little as possible, hence much of the reduction in profit.

One of Helados Estiu’s objectives and goals is to provide a coherent response to those activities related to Food Quality and Safety, Innovation and Sustainability in all areas. Sustainable growth is a premise, as the general manager of Helados Estiu, Maria José Félix, explains, “It has to be economically, environmentally and socially sustainable, with commitment, being part of the strategy and with concrete actions in the short, medium and long term”. She also adds on economic sustainability “it is essential to be economically sustainable because by guaranteeing profits in our activity, we are able to generate wealth, pay taxes, create jobs, invest and innovate, which gives the company meaning”.

Helados Estiu is currently working on increasing the photovoltaic energy capacity in both Cheste and Ribarroja del Turia. The creation of new jobs has meant an important effort to increase the workforce, as the continuous training of all its employees is an essential objective of the company. For Helados Estiu, sustainability means doing things well, being respectful, responsible and acting in an ethical and humane way and thus achieving more prosperity, wealth, innovation and progress for all the stakeholders that surround the company.

 Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’

More info: https://helados-estiu.com/