The owner of the well-loved ice cream parlour in town says rising ingredient costs – particularly chocolate – are melting away his profits.

Ben Govier, who runs Dylan’s Ice Cream in Haslemere and Petersfield, said the soaring price of key ingredients has forced him to raise prices, despite record footfall in recent months.

“March and April were our busiest months ever – we had so many people come in because of the amazing weather,” he said. “But at the end of it, when we sat down to work out how we’d done we realised we didn’t make any money because of how much we are spending on making our ice creams. It was insane.”

Mr Govier has been making ice cream since 2008 and said that during his first decade in business, he only had to raise prices by 20p. This year, however, he’s introduced a 50p increase to help cover the surging cost of ingredients and utilities.

Among the sharpest increases in costs are chocolate sprinkles – up 203 percent since 2023 – and cocoa powder, which has risen by more than 140 per cent. Even milk powder has jumped by 55 per cent, while regular rainbow sprinkles now cost 83% more.

“Our most popular order – a cone with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and chocolate sprinkles –used to cost us 41p to make in 2023. It now costs 96p,” he said. “That’s a 134 per cent increase in just two years.”

He added: “People think sprinkles are nothing, just decoration, but they’re actually costing us insane amounts. Cones alone are now 24 or 25p each.

“We’re a local shop and don’t want to keep raising prices, but our customers have been really understanding. They get it – because they’re seeing the same thing in supermarkets.”

Mr Govier said if costs continue to climb, he may have to consider closing during the winter months to stay sustainable.