Blue Skies ice cream

Ghanaian fruit supplier Blue Skies is eyeing further expansion into other grocery categories after launching a range of dairy-free ice cream into Waitrose.

Made with coconut milk, the three-strong premium lineup is made in Ghana using local fruit and cocoa beans, and sweetened with sugar. Coconut, Mango & Passionfruit and Chocolate & Orange are available now (rsp: £4.99/450ml).

The new ice cream was the first of its kind to be exported from Africa, claimed Anthony Pile, who set up Blue Skies 21 years ago to supply fresh-cut African fruit to retailers overseas, including the UK. Having previously launched a well-received fruit juice range in Ghana, the prospect of producing fruit-based ice cream “really caught our imagination”, he told The Grocer.

Blue Skies plans to broaden its portfolio later this year, although details are still under wraps. “We’ve got two other products lurking behind the scenes,” said Pile. Both will be fruit-based, and the first is scheduled for next month.

Founded in 1997 in Ghana, the company began by supplying pineapple to Sainsbury’s. It now has annual sales of about £100m and approximately 6,000 employees globally.