Mr Whippy is a symbol of the British summer, along with washed out BBQs and chasing the sun around beer gardens. And Surprisingly, seaside towns up and down the country have Brummie to thank.
Founder Dominic Facchino was born in Birmingham to Italian parents and set up his first van in Brum in the 50s.
On a visit to the US Dominic saw the popularity of Mister Softie ice creams, but on his return couldn’t secure the franchise rights to the name in the UK. Instead, Mr Whippy was born, and began with a fleet of 6 vans in Birmingham. The vans were decorated in Pink and cream and Greensleeves was used as the jingle - mainly because it was cheap to secure the rights to, being over 400 years old at the time.
Mr Whippy’s popularity grew in the UK and expanded to Australia and New Zealand, eventually being purchased by Walls in the 1990s.
-
Read more of our stories on the history of Birmingham and the West Midlands, such as the first recorded assassination, how the 500+ Royal Oak pubs got their name, and the Real Peaky Blinders.