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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS: A new ice cream made from camel milk has been launched in Kent - and its creators nowplan to take the unique product to Harrods. Armenpress reports, citing the international media that the strange sounding treat, which is made without any sugar, was launched earlier this month and therearenow ambitious plans in the pipelineto expand the business.
Produced by the Ashford-based Simply Ice Cream company, the product is somewhat unusual but proved a hit when it was launched at a special 'camel race day' event at Hole Park, near Rolvenden, earlier this month.
On the back of that success,company founder Sally Newallis looking at the possibility of expanding theventureand plans to target Harrods, the upmarket London department store, as a possible future outlet to sell the product.
At the 'camel race day' event on Sunday, September 7, the company - which sold the ice cream in vanilla, mango and strawberry flavors - had 120 potson saleand sold out within an hour.
They may have cost £3.50 per pot butthe ice cream is expensive to make, as the camel milk costs £10 per liter to buy.
Now, Simply Ice Cream founder Sally Newall is contemplating the benefits of producing the camel milk ice cream alongside the company'scurrent products and flavors.
She and John Hare, of the Wild Camel Protection Foundation, are discussing a possible collaborationto launch the product.
"We're in the planning process - the feedback has generally been very good," she said, on taking the ice cream into proper production.
"We will sit down and work out whether it's viable and whether there is a market.
"We would market as a premium product for places like Harrods where there's a readymade market for it. It's initially worth contacting them and seeing what they think about it."
Simply Ice Cream also enjoyedpositive feedbackwhen the product was put on show at the Specialty and Fine Food Fair in London.
"It's whether it's going to be competitive enough with the other products available, like sheep and buffalo," she added.
"At the 'camel race day,' people were buying it because it was a novelty; whether they will go and buy it (in other places) remains to be seen."
As well as the curiosity factor of trying camel milk, the ice cream also presents a number of health benefits, according toMr. Hare.
"It's very low in fat and very high in insulin," he said, with the ice cream providing an alternative for those who are allergic to the lactose in dairy.
"It's very good for people with type 1 diabetes - that's a good selling point for camel milk ice cream."
A dairy in Holland which houses 83 milking camels produces the milk for Simply Ice Cream, which is also high in vitamin C and uses agave instead of sugar to sweeten the flavors.
"I wonder whether ordinary people would see the difference of cow milk ice cream and camel milk," Mr. Hare added, who also helped run the Hole Park event.
"Camel milk is maybe not quite so creamy but it's very good for you."