Salcombe Dairy

Made in Devon Since 1981. Seventy Awards Later, Still the Same Recipe.

Salcombe Dairy began on a beach in North Devon, when Peter Howard — recently retired from the Merchant Navy — turned to his wife and announced that he thought he should start an ice cream company. The thought became reality in 1981, when he set up in a small stone shed in Salcombe and devised a base recipe using fresh milk from the local farm, double cream and the finest natural ingredients he could find. That recipe has not changed since. Neither has the philosophy: quality without compromise, no artificial colours or flavourings, and never the cheapest because cutting corners is simply not something Salcombe Dairy does.

Over forty years and seventy prestigious awards later, the range now spans over twenty ice cream and sorbet flavours — all free from nuts, gluten, egg and palm oil — alongside a remarkable bean-to-bar chocolate collection made from scratch using fairly traded organic cocoa nibs. Every product is produced in South Devon. The brand donates over ten percent of its profits to charity. And the ice cream is, by any reasonable measure, extraordinary.

Discover more from our Food Hall at Sostter, or explore considered food gifts in our Shop by Purpose edit and our sustainable brands directory.

Visit the Shops

Salcombe Dairy now have five locations you can visit in person — their original ice cream shop and café at Island Street, Salcombe TQ8 8DX, where you can watch the ice cream being made through the window; their chocolate factory and shop at Hannaford's Landing, Salcombe TQ8 8FE; a waterfront parlour at 8 The Quay, Dartmouth TQ6 9PS; a coastal café at Strete Gate, Slapton Line; and a brand new shop at 9–10 Pulteney Bridge, Bath BA2 4AX. Open daily, 10am–5pm. Discover more independent boutiques through the Sostter Boutiques directory.