Doddington Dairy

What Doddington Dairy does

Doddington Dairy is a family-owned dairy business operated by the Maxwell family from North Doddington Farm in the Glendale Valley, Northumberland, where the family has farmed for over 50 years. The company operates three product lines built on milk from its own dairy herd: handmade luxury ice cream (launched August 2000 after Neill and Jackie Maxwell identified a gap for handmade farm ice cream between Yorkshire and Aberdeenshire), specialist raw milk cheese (introduced in the early 1990s as a diversification by Neill and his sister Margaret-Ann), and yogurt. A premium sub-brand, Dark Skies Ice Cream, was launched in 2024 with flavours such as Madagascan Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Scottish Strawberry, and Belgian Chocolate, targeted at performance venues, theatres, cinemas, arenas, and Dark Sky establishments.

The business employs 17 people in total: 5 on the farm, 8 full-time staff, and 4 part-time staff in the ice cream and cheese enterprises. Production is fully traceable from farm to freezer, with the same family involved in feeding and milking cows, hand selecting ingredients, mixing, packaging, and delivery. Quality and provenance are reinforced by a long awards record, including BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards Best Producer (2015), Sial d'Or Award (2006), and Great Taste Gold Awards.

Doddington Dairy generates revenue through three channels. Direct-to-consumer sales are made through the Doddington Milk Bar, an on-site retail café offering ice cream, milkshakes, hot drinks, and locally sourced food products with a sustainability incentive (25p discount for customers bringing their own container). Trade and wholesale supply is fulfilled across the North of England and southern Scotland via the company's own fleet of branded freezer vans, with national distribution available on request. Enterprise venue supply is a newer motion exemplified by the 2023 partnership with ASM Global to supply the Dark Skies range to Manchester Arena. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; trade customers contact the sales team directly, and point-of-sale materials are provided to resellers.

Name

Doddington Dairy

Legal name

Doddington Dairy Ltd.

Website

http://www.doddingtondairy.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Doddington Dairy is a dairy farm that makes cheese and ice cream.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Dairy Products

NAICS

Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Dairy Product (except Dried or Canned) Merchant Wholesalers (424430)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020), Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Cream & Frozen Dairy Wholesale (AFAIAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Milk Production (Raw Milk) (AFAEACAA), Fluid Milk & Cream Processing (AFAKAKAA)

Keywords

• Handmade ice cream
• Artisan dairy products
• Raw milk cheese
• Farm dairy production
• Luxury ice cream wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Wooler

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Ice Cream Sales: Sale of handmade luxury ice cream in various formats including 120ml and 500ml cartons, with core range featuring cartoon characters. Trade supply to businesses and retail customers.
2. Cheese and Yogurt Sales: Production and sale of specialist raw milk cheese and yogurt products, originally started in the early 1990s by Neill and Margaret-Ann Maxwell.
3. Milk Bar Retail: Operation of the Doddington Milk Bar retail outlet selling ice cream, milkshakes, hot drinks, and locally sourced food products. Also provides 25p discount for bringing own container.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Doddington Dairy is a family-run dairy farm that produces and sells handmade luxury ice cream, specialist raw milk cheese, and yogurt made from milk from its own dairy herd at North Doddington Farm in Northumberland. Its flagship Doddington Dairy Ice Cream range is sold in 120ml and 500ml cartons to retail consumers, local shops, and trade/wholesale customers via own branded freezer-van deliveries, with a premium Dark Skies Ice Cream sub-brand supplied to venues such as Manchester Arena.

Product overview

Doddington Dairy operates a multi-product portfolio centered on their family farm in Northumberland. The core offerings include handmade luxury ice cream (launched 2000), specialist raw milk cheese (established early 1990s), yogurt, and an on-site Milk Bar cafe. A premium sub-brand, Dark Skies Ice Cream, was introduced targeting high-end venues like Manchester Arena. All products use milk from their own dairy herd, with quality ingredients sourced locally where possible.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dark Skies Ice Cream: A luxury range of ice creams inspired by Northumberland's dark skies, featuring Madagascan Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Scottish Strawberry, and Belgian Chocolate. Created for performance venues, theatres, cinemas, arenas, and establishments within national Dark Sky areas.

Products and services

• Doddington Dairy Ice Cream Handmade luxury ice cream produced on the family farm using full cream milk, double cream, sugar, egg yolks, and real flavours. Core range sold in 120ml and 500ml cartons to retail consumers, local shops, and trade/wholesale customers.
• Dark Skies Ice Cream Premium luxury ice cream sub-brand inspired by Northumberland's dark skies, featuring upscale flavours (Madagascan Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Scottish Strawberry, Belgian Chocolate) targeted at performance venues, theatres, cinemas, and arenas.
• Doddington Cheese Specialist raw milk cheese produced from the Maxwell family's own dairy herd as a farm diversification activity since the early 1990s. Sold via the Doddington Cheese brand/site.
• Doddington Milk Bar On-site farm café and ice cream parlour selling Doddington Dairy ice cream, milkshakes, hot drinks, and locally sourced food products, with sustainable packaging initiatives and a 25p discount for bringing a reusable container.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over one million annual customer touchpoints at Manchester Arena alone

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ASM Global (Manchester Arena)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023ASM Global, who manage Manchester Arena (Europe's largest indoor arena with 21,000 capacity), partnered with Doddington Dairy to supply their new luxury Dark Skies Ice Cream range. This was the first outlet in the world to have partnered with Doddington Dairy for this range. Paul Malley, Head of Food & Beverage for ASM Global, expressed excitement about the partnership, citing the family's natural product creation in the UK as qualities customers are looking for.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mackie's of Scotland: Family-owned Scottish dairy farm producing ice cream and dairy products with national UK distribution. Closest analogue: similar farm-to-freezer vertical integration, regional UK artisanal positioning, and multi-channel retail/trade GTM.
• Brymor Ice Cream: Yorkshire-based farm producing premium artisanal ice cream from own dairy herd. Directly comparable on premium positioning, on-farm manufacturing, and UK trade/wholesale GTM into foodservice.
• Rocombe Farm Ice Cream: Devon farm-based artisan ice cream producer selling direct and through trade. Comparable small-scale farm-to-customer model with premium positioning and own herd milk base.
• Neal's Yard Dairy: UK specialist in premium farmhouse cheese and dairy with retail and wholesale channels. Comparable premium raw milk cheese and dairy focus, similar artisanal / farm-provenance positioning and award-led brand.
• Booja-Booja: UK organic / plant-based premium ice cream brand with national distribution. Comparable premium positioning, multiple Great Taste recognition, and UK retail/wholesale GTM in artisanal frozen.
• Isle of Wight Ice Cream Company: UK farm-anchored ice cream brand operating parlours and wholesale distribution. Comparable scale, farm-anchored heritage, and multi-channel retail plus trade model targeting UK consumers.

Broad incumbents

• Yeo Valley: UK's largest organic dairy brand offering yogurt, cream, milk and ice cream at national scale. Comparable organic / natural positioning but at much larger scale and broader product portfolio across dairy categories.
• Walls (Unilever Heartbrand): Mass-market UK ice cream brand owned by Unilever, dominating impulse and grocery freezer. Overlaps in category and impulse retail GTM but serves mass-market price points rather than artisanal premium.
• Froneri: One of the world's largest ice cream manufacturers (Nestlé/R&R joint venture), producing both own-label and branded ice cream including UK supply. Overlaps in foodservice and out-of-home ice cream supply to enterprise venues.

Regional players

• Daylesford Organic: UK organic farm shop and online retailer with its own dairy and ice cream. Comparable farm-anchored premium positioning and multi-channel DTC plus retail; serves a similar affluent UK consumer base but with a wider premium grocery portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/doddingtondairy
• Facebookfacebook.com/doddingtondairy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/doddingtondairy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Doddington Dairy