BALBIINO MAINTAINS AND DEVELOPS ICE CREAM CULTURE
As the biggest ice cream producer in Estonia, Balbiino has accepted responsibility for maintaining and developing ice cream culture through three key activities.
WE VALUE
ESTONIAN ICE CREAM TRADITIONS
It’s said that those who don’t remember the past live without the future.
This is why maintaining Estonia’s ice cream culture and heritage is important to us here at Balbiino.
In so doing, we contribute to the preservation of Estonian culture as a whole,
because food culture and its heritage forms part of this.
Onu Eskimo’s ice cream range
Onu Eskimo’s ice cream range is the symbol of Estonian ice cream culture. These ice creams are dedicated to the first Estonian ice cream producer, Evald Rooma, who was one of the most remarkable people in the entire history of Estonian food culture. Most Estonians know the old master by his nickname, Onu Eskimo.
The Onu Eskimo range of ice creams were inspired by Rooma’s old recipes. Years of traditions of ice cream production and contemporary flavours meet in one of the most beloved Estonian ice cream ranges. Both nostalgia and modern notes resonate in the ice cream, which is made from pure Estonian cream. Onu Eskimo ice cream unites generations.
The only ice cream museum in Estonia
Estonian ice cream legend Onu Eskimo bequeathed to Balbiino both his ice cream recipes and his machines, which everyone can now see for themselves at the Estonian Ice Cream Museum dedicated to local ice cream production. We have set up an exposition in the Balbiino factory which showcases the exciting history of Estonian ice cream production, as well as the key events in the world of ice cream, from the preparation of the very first ice cream to the latest ice cream trends. Special museum classes and educational programmes expand children’s knowledge of ice cream culture and heritage.
WE SUPPORT LOCAL DAIRY PRODUCERS
Pure, high-quality and environmentally friendly food comes from places close by. This is why we use cream from the outstanding dairy farms of E-Piim to make ice cream here at Balbiino.
We’re pleased that the people of E-Piim look out for the well-being of their animals and the farm environment – both inside and out.
Farms like this have a small carbon footprint, as they don’t transport feed from abroad, but grow it themselves. By buying cream from E-Piim farms, we also contribute to the promotion of country life and to the preservation of jobs in rural communities.
“The use of local raw materials largely shows a food producer’s values and respect for consumers.
Estonian raw materials are very fresh and pure – real food. The short supply chain and the mentality of small producers that we produce food we eat ourselves are the best guarantees of quality, in my opinion.”
Kaja Piirfeld, Farmer of the Year 2020
WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
When Onu Eskimo took his first batch of ice cream to the Tartu Song Festival in 1932, the hundred-odd ice creams sold out in minutes. However, massive changes have taken place on the ice cream market since then, and delicious ice cream is accessible to every Estonian at any time.
Balbiino produces almost 30 million ice creams every year, and this has an effect on the environment. We’ve take significant steps to reduce our environmental impact and work hard every day to find more environmentally friendly ways of producing delicious ice cream.
50% of recycled material in ice cream wrappers
The footprint left on the world by the wrappers of Uncle Eskimo ice creams is now just half as big as it used to be, as our packaging now contains 50% recycled material. We’re the first ice cream producer in the Baltic Sea and Scandinavian region to use a unique wrapper created in cooperation with the local packaging producer Estiko.
7000 kilograms of wrappers are used for Uncle Eskimo ice creams each year. With 3500 kilograms of this being recycled material, that means a very large quantity of new plastic is not produced at all. When you buy Uncle Eskimo ice cream, you help us make the world a cleaner place and contribute to the recycling of materials!
Our production waste is recycled
As a food producer, we’ve set ourselves the goal of reducing food waste as much as possible. We send up to 9 tonnes of production residue to the agricultural sector, where it’s used as feed, thereby giving new life to the waste.
We also have all of the plastic we use in production recycled.
Responsible
water use
As an ice cream maker, we use a lot of water in production, both in our products and for washing our equipment. Over the last five years, we’ve invested in special technologies and equipment that have allowed us to reduce the quantity of water we use to produce a tonne of ice cream by a whopping 42%.
Environmentally friendly choices
We all have to contribute to reducing our carbon footprint so as to combat climate change, which is why we’ve made significant changes in our energy use as well. Energy-efficient LED lightbulbs are used throughout our factory and production premises, allowing us to considerably reduce our use of power.
We use gas, which is more environmentally friendly, to heat our buildings and use the energy generated in the freezing process to heat our domestic water. We use efficient storage freezers that maintain a steady temperature to store Uncle Eskimo ice cream, allowing us to use power flexibly and sustainably.