So, what’s the scoop? An Ola history
Here at Ola, we have been making ice cream for almost 100 years. But surprisingly enough, we weren’t always making ice cream.
It all started from a butcher’s shop in St James` Market in London. T. Wall & Sons Ltd had made sausages since 1786, but in 1913 chairman Thomas Wall had a eureka moment to increase summer sales and save the jobs of his employees. He realised that sausages aren’t the most refreshing snack during the summer. So, he decided to experiment and started serving up delicious ice cream to cool down the customers instead.
But, that idea had to be put on ice. It wasn’t until 1922 – after World War One – that ice cream was back on the menu and T. Wall & Sons started making ice cream in the American way[1].
It was then that Ola was born, and our delicious ice creams were soon delighting the good people of London. At first, they made their way through the streets via horse and cart, and then by our famous ‘Stop Me and Buy One’ tricycles. The number of Ola tricycles on the road increased from 10 in 1922 to 8500 in 1939. Even today you might see a tricycle in the city during the summer, if you keep your eyes peeled.
As time marched on, Ola found the freezer space in people’s hearts, homes and in cinemas all over town. Fruity Ola ice lollies popped up next and began a flurry of innovation. We got busy and dreamt up some of our most famous and best loved Ola products like the Twister, and oddballs like the Feast. And what fun we had.
It's thanks to all the years of hard work and ingenuity of the clever clogs at Ola we’ve been able to create some of the world’s favourite ice creams. And it gives us something to live up to every day. So, you never know when we might stumble upon a new ice cream or ice lolly recipe that’s that everyone is going to love. And that’s exactly what gets us out of bed in the morning. And it’s turned into one heck of a journey.
Ola ice creams are now sold in over 50 different countries around the world. And we go by all sorts of different names in each one. But, whatever you want to call us, you’ll always be able to spot a Ola ice cream thanks to our legendary heart logo.
Our founders believed one thing. That ice cream makes everybody happy. That its magic brings us together and melts away the barriers between us.
And above all, they had the vision that ice cream should be enjoyed by all of us, and not just a few. It’s always been our mission to put as many smiles on people’s faces as we can. We’ve been doing it for almost 100 years now. And we hope we’re doing it for 100 more.
[1] p277 ‘Licks, Sticks & Bricks- A World History of Ice Cream’ by Pim Reinders, Unilever Rotterdam, 1999