R&R is the world’s third largest ice cream manufacturer, with a strong branded ice cream portfolio, as well as a broad range of private label products. The portfolio covers all possible ice cream formats, from sticks, cones and sandwiches to various tubs and other special ice cream offers. In Germany, R&R’s production site is situated in Osnabrück, 130 km west of Hannover. In high season, up to 800 people work at the site.
To make the ice creams extra delicious, many of them are topped with sauces of strawberry, caramel, chocolate or other appetising flavours. The ice cream dairy used to buy all of its topping sauces from suppliers. The total need amounts to more than two million kilos per year. But the company faced several challenges including right product viscosities, long lead times and a slow process when developing new recipes or adjusting old ones. Also, the company looked for ways to cut costs to stay competitive in the tough ice cream business. It asked two of its equipment suppliers, one of them being Tetra Pak, for a solution. Tetra Pak suggested a complete sauce- making line with a Tetra Pak® High Shear Mixer for batch sizes of two tonnes and a container filling system, but also a pilot line featuring a small mixer for 80 kg batches.