‘Make Mine A 99'

How a mum and daughter joined forces to a vintage ice-cream business that brings communities together, inspires youngsters sparks nostalgia

- Katharine Wootton

Whether yours was a chocice, a screwball, a strawberry mivvi or a classic 99, there’s nothing like tasting the ice creams of our childhood to take us right back to days gone by. And for mum and daughter Katy and Georgia Alston, those happy memories are exactly what drives them to get in their vintage ice-cream van every day in their victory rolls and retro dresses. 

Their business, Pinks Vintage, began in 2001 when Katy’s husband Kevin – much to her horror – bought her a clapped out old ice-cream an.

“I’d just finished nursing and didn’t know what I wanted to do next,” says Katy (50). “In this gap my husband bought this van, which sounds romantic but it was so run down I wasn’t too impressed!

“Kevin explained, though, that I should look at it not as a van but as a business opportunity, so we renovated it and I drove it around the streets as well as doing weddings and private events. I quickly realised how much the van was taking people back to their childhood, so I rebranded the van as Pinks Vintage and gave it a retro feel.”

Then in 2008 with the business in full flow, Katy was astonished when her daughter Georgia announced, out of the blue, that she wanted to leave university to join her mum in the business.