Man claims to know 'exactly' how much Mr Whippy vans make from a classic 99 ice cream - but is he right?
- Lawyer Mat Fresco has taken to TikTok to reveal how much ice cream vans make
A lawyer has revealed 'exactly' how much Mr Whippy vans make from selling a classic ice cream with a flake.
Colloquially known as a '99', it costs considerably more than 99p to purchase a refreshing soft serve from an ice cream van today.
Research from MailOnline back in April showed that prices for a single 99 flake have spiked to shocking highs of £5.75 - showing the drastic shift as Britain's favourite cone becomes unaffordable for much of the country.
Now, lawyer Mat Fresco has taken to TikTok to reveal how much ice cream vans make from selling the sweet treat.
He listed the various costs of ingredients, as well as supposed labour costs without sharing his actual formula.
A lawyer has revealed 'exactly' how much Mr Whippy vans make from selling a classic ice cream with a flake
Research from MailOnline back in April showed that prices for a single 99 flake have spiked to shocking highs of £5.75 (File image)
The legal expert said: 'The cone costs 4p, the half-sized Cadbury's chocolate flake costs 10p. Mr Whippy is the trade name of the soft mix ice cream made by Wall's, it's made from condensed milk, double cream and vanilla, which costs just 2p.
'The soft serve machine freezes the mix and injects air. Soft serve is soft, creamy, slow to melt and not mad cold.
'Half your ice cream is fresh air, that's free, but the machine costs you 3p. To power the machine you've got to run the engine all day, that fuel costs you 53p. That diesel van costs you 9p.'
'Trading license is 1p. Scoops, tubs, spoons are 1p. Insurance is 2p and wages are another 2p.'
He also added that ice creams are not subject to a VAT charge - they are classed as a biscuit - unless they are covered in chocolate.
Mat said: 'VAT at 20 percent making it 42p. Mr Whippy makes £1.19 when you buy a '99'''.
He went to reveal how much someone running an ice cream van can expect to make per year, in line with his own cost analysis
The lawyer said: 'A good van like this one can sell 600 ice creams on a sunny day, making £44,000 a year. There's 5,103 ice cream vans in the UK, churning over a cool £220,000,000 a year.'
'There's no cooking, no packaging, no waste, no advertising costs - just play the chimes. We love that music but local councils don't.'
Lawyer Mat Fresco has taken to TikTok to reveal how much ice cream vans make from selling the sweet treat
He cotninued by saying that - while ice cream vans might be good for making profit - they have to adhere to strict regulations.
For instance, their notorious chimes cannot be played before noon or after 7pm and must only last for 12-seconds, once on approach and once on arrival, but be spaced out least two minutes apart from each other.
This must be under 80 decibels and cannot return to the same street within two hours of leaving it.
Furthermore, the chimes cannot be played within 50 metres of a school, hospital or a church on a Sunday nor can they be sounded in sight of another ice cream van.
While many people might think that the name for a '99' comes from its previous common price of 99p - this is not the case.
In fact, the refreshing treat earnt the nickname way back in 1922, when a man named Stefano Arcari opened an ice cream shop in Scotland.
He set up shop at 99 Portobello High Street, where would apparently break a Flake in half and then place it in the ice cream to serve to his customers - with a Flake remaining a quintessential part of a Mr Whippy to this day.
Nowadays, you would be extremely fortunate to find a 99 Flake for the sum of 99p - as back in April at one popular tourist attraction in Coventry, a mother forked out £5.70 for a twin ice cream with a flake.
Outside a stall on the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park, which is run by the Royal Parks charity, prices for a 99 are edging towards £6 - with extra toppings costing 25p extra.
Ice cream parlours in North Tyneside have also been forced to hike up the price of the iconic 99 due to soaring production costs. Pictured: Di Mascio's on North Shields Fish Quay
Parents lining up with small children grimly accepted the rocketing costs as they prepared to fork out on the soft-whip desert.
Since being contacted by MailOnline, the price of an ice cream at that location was reduced to £4.65. The Royal Parks claim it was 'an error in the advertised pricing'.
Safran Siddik manages an ice cream stall in Hyde Park owned by the Royal Parks - a charity that cares for the capital's green spaces - which charges £3.65 for a single 99 cone and £4.60 for a double.
The 20-year-old said that he would not be able to afford one of his ice creams - and he is used to customers complaining about his sky-high prices.
He said: 'Until a couple of days ago it was £3.50, and when I first started working it was like £3.
'It's been three years. Every year the prices go up - of everything. Not just ice cream. Everything we're selling.
'I wasn't here, in this country, when soft ice was 99p - but every time I remember, they make little jokes that: 'Oh, this used to be 99p.' I'm like - that was 10, 15 years ago now.'
The Royal Parks said that the price of an ice cream at the stall was £3.30 three years ago, marking a 35p increase.
Another vender, who did not want to be named, was selling ice creams for the same price from a different stall in the park.
Ice cream parlours in North Tyneside have also been forced to hike up the price of the iconic 99 due to soaring production costs. Pictured: Di Mascio's on North Shields Fish Quay
A council-run tourist venue in Coventry has also been slammed over 'extortionate' prices for ice cream
A group of young children sit in the shallows as they enjoy an ice-cream at Littlehampton, West Sussex, in 1935
They claimed that they had seen prices rise by several pounds in the time they had been there.
The person selling the sun-loving desert added that they believed it was 'definitely' the cost-of-living crisis that was driving up prices.
They said: 'People say that it used to be 99 pence, that it's expensive.
It sometimes makes it more difficult to sell them. Sometimes they're a bit short on change or if they have kids it's a bit harder.'
The Royal Parks do not set the prices of their catering themselves, with each concessionary being able to increase the prices.
A spokesperson for The Royal Parks said: 'The Royal Parks work together with our catering providers to maintain a quality standard in our food and drink offering. In order to do so, price increases to cover inflation and the cost of ingredients are sometimes necessary.
'We strive to provide a range of options for visitors to our cafes and kiosks and prices are benchmarked against comparative venues and attractions.
'Purchasing food and drink from our catering concessions helps the Royal Parks charity protect and maintain the Royal Parks.'
