Bluebell Dairy
Bluebell Dairy is a third-generation family farm in Derby, UK, producing artisan ice cream from its own 15-cow herd and operating a 15-acre visitor farm park with animal encounters, seasonal events, and wholesale ice cream distribution to hospitality trade customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersDerby, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Bluebell Dairy does
Bluebell Dairy is a third-generation family-owned farm and visitor attraction based at Brunswood Farm in Derby, Derbyshire, UK. The business operates as Bluebell Dairy Limited, tracing its agricultural roots to 1953 and pivoting into luxury artisan ice cream production in 2008. Its core offering combines handmade ice cream produced on-site from milk sourced from its own 15-cow dairy herd (milked via robotic system) with Bluebells Farm Park, a 15-acre visitor attraction featuring over 200 animals across 30+ breeds, indoor and outdoor play areas, and a calendar of seasonal events.
The company generates revenue across eight distinct streams: farm park admission tickets (general and seasonal events), on-site ice cream retail (26-pan parlour), wholesale ice cream distribution to trade stockists (with AHT freezer equipment and POS materials supplied), premium animal experiences (Highland Cow Experience, Highland Cow Afternoon Tea), birthday parties, school trips, animal adoption subscriptions (£35/year), gift vouchers, and cafe F&B sales (Moo & Brew). Pricing spans £13-£15 for standard admission, £45-£55 for premium experiences, and up to £49.95 for Christmas child tickets. Distribution is omnichannel: direct-to-consumer at the farm site, self-serve online booking via FuseMetrix, and B2B wholesale to local attractions, cafes, restaurants, and shops.
The target customer base is predominantly families with children in the East Midlands region (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, South Yorkshire, West Midlands), supplemented by school groups, private event bookers, and hospitality trade customers. The cattle herd acts as both production asset and headline attraction, while the event calendar (MooFest, Christmas at Bluebells, Cows and Cocktails, Highland Cow Afternoon Tea) provides year-round revenue cadence. Operations are entirely owner-operated with no external funding, no parent company, and no public listing.
Bluebell Dairy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bluebell Dairy
- Legal name
- Bluebell Dairy Limited
- Website
- https://bluebelldairy.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bluebell Dairy is a third-generation family farm in Derby, UK, producing artisan ice cream from its own 15-cow herd and operating a 15-acre visitor farm park with animal encounters, seasonal events, and wholesale ice cream distribution to hospitality trade customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bluebell Dairy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artisan Ice Cream
- NAICS
- Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Dairy Cattle and Milk Production (112120)
- SIC
- Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024), Dairy Products (2020)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fluid Milk & Cream Processing (AFAKAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Ice Cream & Frozen Dairy Wholesale (AFAIAEAF), Dairy Housing, Milking Systems & On-Farm Infrastructure Operations (AFAEACAG), Automatic Milking Robots (AMS) (AFAAAIAB)
Keywords
Where Bluebell Dairy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Derby
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bluebell Dairy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Farm Park Admission Tickets: Visitors pay for entry tickets to the farm park, with online pre-booking required. Ticket prices vary by season and event type. Includes standard admission (Farmyard Fun), summer holiday tickets (Moofest), and special event tickets (Christmas, Halloween).
- Ice Cream Retail Sales: On-site ice cream parlour sales featuring 26-pan display with dairy ice cream, sorbets, and plant-based options. Single, double, and triple scoop cones, sundaes, muckshakes, and takeaway tubs sold directly to visitors.
- Wholesale Ice Cream Distribution: Trade customers including local attractions, shops, cafes, and restaurants stock Bluebell Dairy ice cream. Company provides freezer equipment, point-of-sale materials (pavement signs, posters, wall flags, bunting), and seven-day-a-week delivery service.
- Premium Animal Experiences: Paid experiences including Highland Cow Experience (45 minutes, from £45 per person), Highland Cow Afternoon Tea (£55 per person), calf cuddling add-ons. Includes all-day farm park entry.
- Birthday Parties: Celebration packages at £21.50 per person with minimum 10 children. Includes guided farm tour, animal encounter, and packed lunch. Hosted on selected weekend dates between April and September.
- Animal Adoptions: 12-month animal adoption packages at £35.00 including certificate, factsheet, photo, one farm admission ticket, presentation folder, greetings card. Supports additional enrichment for adopted animals.
- Gift Vouchers: Monetary gift vouchers available in £5, £10, £20, £50, £100 denominations or custom values. Redeemable against entrance tickets, cafe purchases, and gift shop. Valid for 12 months from issue.
- Food & Beverage: Moo & Brew Cafe serves home-cooked food, hot and cold drinks, coffees, teas, iced coffees, and muckshakes. Contributes to per-visit revenue alongside ice cream sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Summer Holiday Tickets (Moofest) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | General Admission Farmyard Fun (from June 2026) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Highland Cow Experience |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Highland Cow Afternoon Tea |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Birthday Party Package |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Christmas at Bluebells 2026 |
| Subscription | Annual | Animal Adoption Package |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Vouchers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Bluebell Dairy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bluebell Dairy is a third-generation family dairy farm in Derbyshire that produces luxury artisan ice cream from its own 15-cow robotic-milked herd and operates a family farm park with over 200 animals, indoor and outdoor activities, premium animal experiences, and seasonal events including Moofest, Christmas at Bluebells, and Highland cow encounters. The company also distributes its artisan ice cream wholesale to trade customers including local attractions, shops, cafés, and restaurants with full-service support.
Product overview
Bluebell Dairy operates a diversified farm park and artisan ice cream business centred on its family farm in Derby, Derbyshire (established 1953). The core offering combines luxury handmade ice cream produced on-site from the company's own 15-cow dairy herd, with a family visitor attraction featuring indoor/outdoor play, animal encounters, and seasonal events. The product portfolio spans three main pillars: (1) Artisan Ice Cream – over 25 dairy flavours plus plant-based and sorbet options, sold on-site and wholesale to trade partners; (2) Farm Park Experiences – general admission, animal encounters (Highland Cow Experience, Highland Cow Afternoon Tea), and themed events (MooFest summer festival, Christmas at Bluebells, Cows and Cocktails); and (3) Supplementary Services – birthday parties, school trips, animal adoptions, and gift vouchers. The company uses a unified booking platform (FuseMetrix-powered) for all paid experiences and entry.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Moo & Brew Cafe: On-site cafe serving home-cooked food and beverages at the farm park
- Cow Palace
- Bluebell Farm Park
Products and services
- Bluebell Farm Park
- Artisan Ice Cream
- Highland Cow Experience
- Highland Cow Afternoon Tea
- Birthday Parties
- School Trips
- Animal Adoptions
- Wholesale Ice Cream (Stockist Programme)
- MooFest Summer Festival
- Christmas at Bluebells 2026
- Cows and Cocktails
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 7000 UK dairy farms remaining - robotic milking differentiates as special attraction
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Bluebell Dairy
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Bluebell Dairy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Bluebell Dairy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Birds BakeryminorCollaborative ice cream competition celebrating new Lemon Tart and Caramel Doughnut flavours. Joint marketing campaign with social media competition using hashtag #BirdsxBluebells. Prizes include family tickets and gift vouchers from both brands.
- Nimbus Disability (Access Card Scheme)corePartnership to provide Accessible experiences for visitors with disabilities. Nimbus Disability's Access Card scheme enables free Essential Companion tickets for visitors requiring support. Free Digital Access Pass registration available through Bluebell Dairy.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights14 records
Bluebell Dairy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Birds Bakery: Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire regional bakery chain that has run joint marketing campaigns with Bluebell Dairy (e.g., #BirdsxBluebells ice cream competition). Included as a relevant regional partner/ecosystem connection rather than a direct competitor, illustrating cross-category collaboration in the East Midlands family market.
Broad incumbents
- Walls (Unilever Ice Cream): National mass-market ice cream brand under Unilever with deep UK retail and foodservice distribution. Comparable as the dominant incumbent in the UK ice cream category competing for the same consumer ice cream occasions, but at vastly larger scale and via mass-market positioning.
- Yeo Valley: Large UK organic dairy brand with farm provenance and broad grocery distribution. Comparable on the farm-branded dairy positioning and family-farming narrative, but operates at significantly larger scale across multiple dairy categories.
Direct peers
- Mackie's of Scotland: Scottish family-run dairy farm that produces artisan ice cream from its own herd of Jersey cows and sells through retail and wholesale channels. Most directly comparable to Bluebell Dairy on the cow-to-cone farm-artisan-ice cream model, though at larger scale and broader UK distribution.
- Purbeck Ice Cream: Dorset farm-based artisan ice cream maker distributed to wholesale stockists and direct retail. Directly comparable on farm-vertical-integration and artisan-trade-channel model in the UK regional ice cream market.
- Odds Farm Park: Buckinghamshire family farm attraction combining animal encounters, indoor/outdoor play, and seasonal events. Directly comparable on the family farm-park day-out model targeting families with children across the south/Midlands.
- Cotswold Farm Park: Adam Henson-run farm attraction in the Cotswolds offering animal encounters, indoor/outdoor play, and educational visits. Closely comparable on the farm-park visitor experience and family-day-out positioning, though ice cream is not the primary product.
- Kelly's of Cornwall: Cornish farm-based dairy and ice cream producer with a strong regional brand and trade distribution. Closely comparable on artisan ice cream positioning and farm-provenance narrative, both targeting UK stockists and on-farm retail.
- New Forest Ice Cream: Hampshire-based artisan ice cream producer selling to trade stockists across the south of England. Comparable on product category, wholesale GTM, and family-run artisan positioning, though without the same farm-park visitor attraction layer.
Emerging players
- Longley Farm: Yorkshire family-run dairy producing ice cream and other dairy products with on-site manufacturing. Comparable on family-owned, farm-anchored dairy production, though with a wider dairy product range and no public farm-park visitor attraction.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bluebell Dairy social profiles
Digital presenceBluebell Dairy compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Bluebell Dairy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bluebell Dairy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Bluebell Dairy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bluebell Dairy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bluebell Dairy
What does Bluebell Dairy do?
Bluebell Dairy is a third-generation family dairy farm in Derbyshire that produces luxury artisan ice cream from its own 15-cow robotic-milked herd and operates a family farm park with over 200 animals, indoor and outdoor activities, premium animal experiences, and seasonal events including Moofest, Christmas at Bluebells, and Highland cow encounters. The company also distributes its artisan ice cream wholesale to trade customers including local attractions, shops, cafés, and restaurants with full-service support.
Is Bluebell Dairy a public or private company?
Bluebell Dairy is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Bluebell Dairy founded?
Bluebell Dairy was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bluebell Dairy based?
Bluebell Dairy is headquartered in Derby, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Bluebell Dairy make money?
Eight revenue lines are on record. Farm Park Admission Tickets are the primary driver. The others are ice Cream Retail Sales, wholesale Ice Cream Distribution, premium Animal Experiences, birthday Parties, animal Adoptions, gift Vouchers and food & Beverage.
Who are Bluebell Dairy's main competitors?
Birds Bakery is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Walls (Unilever Ice Cream) and Yeo Valley. Direct peers are Mackie's of Scotland, Purbeck Ice Cream, Odds Farm Park, Cotswold Farm Park, Kelly's of Cornwall and New Forest Ice Cream. Longley Farm is listed as an emerging player.
Does Bluebell Dairy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bluebell Dairy.
What industry is Bluebell Dairy in?
Bluebell Dairy's product category is Artisan Ice Cream. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAKAKAA, Fluid Milk & Cream Processing, with a secondary code of AFAIAEAF, Ice Cream & Frozen Dairy Wholesale. Its NAICS code is 311520 and its SIC code is 2024.