A mum who quit her corporate job to sell boozy ice cream for a living started out with a £25 ice cream maker from the Trafford Centre. Alanna Atkinson was relaxing at Haigh Hall in Wigan when she became inspired in June 2019.
The 35-year-old was sipping on a glass of Sauvignon while her husband enjoyed a Rum ‘n’ Raisin waffle cone and imagined combining the two. The mum-of-one, from Stretford, visited the Trafford Centre the following day and purchased a £25 ice cream machine.
She then started experimenting at home before posting about her flavours in local Facebook groups – becoming a hit with those who volunteered as taste tasters. After many trials, errors and tweaks, she went on to set up her own business, A Few Scoops.
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“I had the idea while I was on maternity leave,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “I wanted an ice cream but I also wanted a glass of wine. I thought, ‘I wish there was a boozy ice cream combining the two.
“The following day I went to the Trafford Centre and bought an ice cream machine and started experimenting at home. I did market research in Stretford and it seemed really popular.”
Alanna set up A Few Scoops in February 2020, but due to the pandemic, did not officially launch until May 2021. Within three months of the launch, Alanna had an eight-week pop-up stall booked at Selfridges and currently has a tuk-tuk pitched at MediaCityUK.
Her range of ice cream flavours includes Cherry Amaretto, Pina Colada, Espresso Martini, Pornstar Martini and Sorbet, as well as non-alcoholic flavours including Cream Soda, Vimto and Cherry Sorbet.
“I got a start-up business going in February 2020,” she said. “But then everything came to a halt and it afforded me the time to perfect the recipes and the brand and launched in May 2021.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and people will only ever see one side which is the positive and the excitement and the craze and all that sort of stuff. People don’t see the 20-hour working days, seven days a week, and not seeing my daughter for three days because I’m working. It comes with its challenges.
“The bigger the business is getting, the longer the days are and the harder I have to work and the tougher it gets and all those types of things. It’s going well, but it’s hard and I’ll be the first to admit it hasn’t come without its challenges or stresses. I think people think it’s an overnight success and that isn’t the case.”
Alanna’s story has been promoted as part of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, with sponsor Visa shining a spotlight on woman-owned small businesses in Manchester. Alanna sat down for a 'Team Talk' with football legend Karen Carney, and described how women's sport had inspired her.
A Few Scoops currently caters to weddings and large corporate events – with Alanna hoping to branch out to shops, supermarkets and Amazon delivery services in the future. “I have the intention of launching in shops and online by the end of the year,” she continued.
“I’m in the process of setting that up but with the heatwave and it being summer, everything is a bit crazy. But I’m hoping to launch that in autumn time and launch in shops, that’s where my main focus is going to be, a retail option more than a pitch.”
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