Yorvale: Yorkshire farm scoops 'life-changing' contract with Aldi for Pigs in Blankets ice cream

Yorvale, which is based at Acaster Malbis near York, won Channel 4 TV show Aldi’s Christmas Secrets with the surprising festive sweet treat.

The pork-flavoured ice cream, which contains a salted smoked maple syrup, is hitting the supermarket shelves from today.

Lesley and Ian Buxton started Yorvale with a single ice cream van in 1989.

The couple came out of standard milk production a few years back and now have an onsite ice cream factory with 14 staff.

Lesley said: “We knew it had to be unusual so we set about looking at typical Christmas flavours that might work in ice cream.

“We experimented with different flavour profiles: Brussels Sprouts, bacon and chestnut, Port-soaked cranberries and blue cheese, blue cheese and smoky bacon. Even a Christmas spiced ‘Cuthbert’ the carrot cake.

“But we finally landed on Pigs in Blankets as it was by far the best, and most festive tasting of them all.”

Ian added: “This is our first ever Aldi contract – an order of 25,000 is absolutely life changing.

“It’s great to think the whole country could be tucking into Pigs in Blankets ice cream at Christmas time. I hope it brings a smile to everyone’s faces.”

They put their success down to having "stress-free" cows, which produce “really creamy” milk, which is then pasteurised on the farm, before being mixed with ingredients for a wide range of ice creams and sorbets.

The couple’s unusual ice cream beat Liverpool bakery, Desserts by Dre, which offered a Christmas Pudding Cheesecake, Wigston Deli, which pitched Pigs in Blankets Samosas, and a festive steamed pudding from Worcestershire-based The Pudding Shop.

Research by Aldi shows Brits are set to eat up to 423 million pigs in blankets on Christmas Day.

Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, said: “Yorvale and their Pigs in Blankets Ice Cream really excited us. It’s such a unique product that we can really see doing well at Aldi.”