Hello and welcome to issue 1 of ‘Soave’s Scoop’. It’s a busy time at Soave’s with many developments to update you on.
Café Sale – First of all, I recently took the decision to sell Soave’s Café, which is located in Muirhead. This was a tough decision as the café was owned and operated by the family for nearly 70 years. The reason I sold the café was quite simple, I wanted to concentrate on the production facility at our ice-cream dairy (which is also based in Muirhead) and continue to grow that part of the business. Don’t worry though, we have a long-standing agreement with the new owners of the café and they will continue to stock all your favourite flavours of Soave’s ice-cream for many years to come.
Investment in Business – The dairy is thriving and recognition of the Soave’s brand is growing all the time. We have increased demand for our products from ice-cream parlours, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and food wholesalers, which is very encouraging to see as our reputation of a producer of high-quality ice cream products grows.
We are also in the middle of a very large investment in the business, which when complete, will provide us with increased storage and production capabilities at the dairy. This investment also includes increasing the number of vehicles we can call upon to undertake deliveries, allowing us to keep up with increased demand from our customers across Scotland.
Staff News – Recently, we made the decision to create a new post within the business, that of a General Manager. After a thorough recruitment process we appointed Valerie Adam (who is from Muirhead) to the role. Valerie came to the new role with a great deal of retail experience and since taking up the position of General Manager she has had a great impact on the business, implementing new ideas and helping us drive the business forward. There is no doubt about it, Valerie has been a real catalyst for change in her role at Soave’s.
We also recently promoted Brian Paton to the position of Team Leader. Brian has worked with Soave’s for 10 years and as you can imagine is very knowledgeable and passionate about the business and knows what is required to make our high-quality ice-cream products.
These two appointments say a lot about Soave’s; how we are open to change by bringing new ideas to the business and how we make the most of our existing staff by developing and promoting them so they can continue to play their part in the ongoing success of Soave’s.
Next Steps – Soave’s have always been an active participant in the local community both as an employer, providing much needed jobs and supporter of the various initiatives that run each year. As we continue to grow the business we do not see this support changing as its part of what made us the business we are today.
I am acutely aware that ‘the only constant is change’ and over the years I have made a point of embracing change and looking for the opportunities that it presents. With regards to the sale of the café and the subsequent investment in the dairy, I see these latest developments as new chapters in the ongoing story of Soave’s. I frequently get asked how long I will continue at the helm of the business and my answer is always the same, “I’m not going anywhere”.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our loyal customers for their support, patronage and good will since I have been involved with the business. Soave’s has played a part in many local families lives over the years and will hopefully continue to do so for many years to come.
Yours sincerely
Eric Soave, Managing Director
Soave’s Ice-Cream
