Toby and Olivia

Having a mum who regularly makes the most delicious ice cream you’ve ever tasted is a real treat. Olivia was just a toddler when she first started helping Kate to make it and now she and Toby are experts at smashing up the honeycomb into just the right sized pieces for the mixture.

They often share a bowl of ice cream with Jan’s children who they’ve been friends with since primary school. Even though Toby and Olivia love the finished product, it’s just possible that they like licking the mixing bowl after the ice cream has just been made even more!

Fi & Steve

Kate’s great friends, Fi and Steve, are probably the most enthusiastic consumers of her homemade honeycomb ice cream. Fi openly admits she loves most ice cream but, “Kate’s is not just an ice cream, it’s a complete pudding!”

When ‘Safari’ suppers are arranged in the village where they live, no matter whose turn it is to bring along the dessert, it often turns out to be Kate’s ice cream – much to everyone’s delight.

Jan

Jan’s passion for all things supply chain has its roots in fond memories of the summer holidays spent at work with her dad colouring in engineering drawings. In the 90s Jan persuaded a Japanese company to sponsor her dream of working there. Whilst working on a project to improve production line performance she soon learnt that world-class manufacturing is as reliant on people as it is on processes. When Jan moved to Dyson she carved out a niche for herself as a problem solver and began to understand that the real key to success isn’t just innovative design but also meeting customers’ needs via an effective supply chain.

Since moving from industry into academia, Jan has had the opportunity to help individual British manufacturers maximise their supply chains. MyChainReaction will, “undoubtedly raise awareness of the supply chain and hopefully gain traction at board level for supply chain investment,” says Jan, but she also hopes it will, “encourage school leavers to consider a career that they might not otherwise have thought about.”

Tenny’s story

Jan’s son Tenny, aged 12, has enjoyed Kate’s ice cream for years. He really likes the fact that it looks and tastes homemade, “not like the artificial ice cream that you get in McDonalds.” He knows he can’t eat ice-cream everyday but loves it as a treat, especially at the weekend.

Tenny loves English at school and used to think his mum was Professor of Potions when he first started reading Harry Potter! Unlike most boys his age, he has a very good idea of what a supply chain is. Having a mum who is a Professor of Supply Chain Management may have something to do with it!

Kate

Jan’s friend Kate is based in Stroud and has been making her delicious honeycomb ice-cream for friends and family for as long as she can remember. Little did she know that her homemade ice cream had a supply chain all of its own!

The honeycomb is supplied by Kate’s mother Susan from her home in Norfolk. Once Kate has called with her order Susan is quick to make a batch of honeycomb and despatch it in the post. The crushing process often gets a head start as it journeys its way across the country. Kate sources the other ingredients, such as whipping cream and condensed milk, from her local supermarket.

Ice cream production at Kate’s house is very much a customer driven process. No matter where she goes, Kate is always asked to bring a tub of her sweet treat with her. Once it’s ready she usually delivers the ice cream in person and often stays on to sample some too.

Susan

Kate’s mum Susan plays a vital role in the ice cream production supply chain, not only as the honeycomb producer but also as the originator of the recipe itself. When her children were young her home was always popular as their friends thought her ice cream was better than Haagen Dazs. Susan also remembers making ‘bucket loads’ for Kate’s 21st birthday.

She is particularly proud of her ‘cordon bleu’ standard honeycomb making skills as, “friends just can’t make honeycomb for toffee!” The secret is getting the temperature right and knowing just when to add the bicarbonate of soda.

The Co-operative Group is a British consumer cooperative, owned and run by its 8 million members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the UK. When do you think it was founded?

Fun Fact

Fun Fact

Kate also uses bicarbonate of soda to produce her honeycomb ice-cream.

When did whipped cream first become popular?

Fun Fact

When did large scale sugar beet production begin in the United Kingdom?

Fun Fact

Liz’s story

Tennyson’s Aunt Liz supplies milk to Cotteswold Dairy in Tewkesbury with her 180 strong herd of cows. Her dedication to developing a new herd that grazes in open pasture has ensured that the milk she produces is not at the expense of the welfare of her animals.

She spends most of her time outside in direct contact with the herd and derives great satisfaction from working with the land. At times it is hard physical work but Liz loves it.