Mr Whippy Bites Into Bakery With £15m Sheffield Factory
Mr Whippy is stepping beyond soft-serve and into the sweet-treat big league with a £15 million manufacturing site in Sheffield, designed to roll out doughnuts at industrial scale from 2026.
The ice cream supplier confirmed it has signed for a 23,355 sq ft facility at ESR Europe’s Sheffield scheme, marking the latest phase in a strategy that has already seen the brand diversify into cupcakes.
The new unit, at Woodhouse Link on Innovation Way just off Junction 31 of the M1, is currently being fitted out as a specialist food production hub. According to the company, more than 50 new jobs will be created on the South East Sheffield industrial estate as the site ramps up.
Crucially, the factory will not just bake – its workflow is being engineered for end-to-end automation and direct distribution, enabling Mr Whippy to manufacture, pack and dispatch under one roof.
A company director described the investment as a crucial next step in the brand’s production expansion, citing the site’s location and specification as tailor-made for food manufacturing. As a modern, detached unit, the building provides the infrastructure to support specialist processes and high-throughput automation, while its proximity to the motorway network streamlines nationwide delivery.
The director added that the facility will serve as the manufacturing hub for Mr Whippy’s new doughnut line, which is set to launch fully next year and appear on retailers’ shelves soon after.
The lease was handled by an agent at Knight Frank, who said the unit lent itself to becoming a state-of-the-art food production facility, praising the unparalleled logistics advantages for national distribution. With Sheffield’s industrial corridors increasingly attractive to food producers and FMCG brands, the deal underscores the city’s pull for manufacturers seeking modern space with immediate motorway access.
For Mr Whippy, the move signals intent. Long synonymous with soft-serve ice cream and summer nostalgia, the brand has been steadily widening its portfolio to capture year-round demand.
The addition of doughnuts – projected at more than 104 million units annually – positions the company squarely in the fast-moving, high-volume bakery segment, complementing its existing cupcakes range and giving retailers breadth across multiple sweet-treat categories.
The specification of the Woodhouse Link site is central to the strategy. Beyond the square footage, the fit-out focuses on hygiene-critical design, temperature control, and efficiency – key requirements for baked goods with rapid production cycles. Integrating automation is expected to drive consistency, reduce waste and improve throughput, all of which are essential for meeting volume targets while maintaining product quality.
What’s more, with distribution baked into the plan – literally at the loading bay – Mr Whippy aims to cut time from oven to aisle.
The timing also reflects a wider wave of investment in the UK’s confectionery and bakery landscape. In North Yorkshire, Whitakers Chocolates recently launched its Milk Chocolate Brazil Nuts after commissioning a dedicated nut processing facility at its Snaygill site in Skipton.
Together, these moves signal confidence among legacy sweet-treat brands that innovation, category expansion and modernised production can unlock growth in a cost-conscious, quality-driven retail market.
For Sheffield, the benefits are tangible: new jobs, increased industrial activity, and a vote of confidence in the region’s infrastructure. For retailers, the promise is reliable supply at scale – and for consumers, a familiar British brand offering more choice, from freezer to bakery aisle.
Conclusion
Mr Whippy’s £15 million bet on Sheffield blends heritage with ambition: a modern, 23,355 sq ft factory engineered for specialist food production, automated efficiency and seamless distribution.
With over 50 jobs created and more than 104 million doughnuts slated for annual output from 2026, the expansion broadens the brand from soft-serve icon to multi-category sweet-treat player.
Coupled with parallel investments across the sector, it’s a clear signal that confectionery and bakery manufacturing in the United Kingdom is investing to innovate, scale and delight shoppers year-round.
News Credits: Mr Whippy expands into sweet treats with new £15M factory
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