When mum-of-three Annie Hanbury packed her bags and jetted off to Italy to study making ice cream, some might have wondered if it was a wise move.

But just a few years after returning from Bologna in Italy - the world capital of ice cream - she has set up her own British ice cream business ' Baboo Gelato ' and it's proving a sweet success.

The company she launched with husband Sam in 2016 has already picked up a string of awards - including the coveted Champion Ice Cream prize from Taste of the West, and Best Dairy Producer in the Taste of Dorset awards.

And restaurants are queueing up to get the Dorset duo's delicious desserts on their menu.

Speaking to Mirror Online as part of nPower's Brilliant Businesses campaign, Annie said: "We have been completely overwhelmed by how our ice cream has been received in our local community. Not only have we won some awards but our customers have been incredibly kind and supportive.

Gelato is not simply the Italian name for ice cream. Although it feels very smooth, gelato is made using more milk than cream, and so is much lower in fat than traditional ice cream. There is also less air in gelato, which means it packs more flavour.

"Very often when we win a new restaurant as a client, they tell us that it is because so many of our customers have been demanding it. We’re really honoured to have this following in our small part of Dorset."

Both Annie and Sam previously worked in finance before starting their own companies – Annie making baby clothes and Sam producing ice for the fishing industry in Sri Lanka.

Baboo use state-of-the-art artisanal machinery imported from Italy to create the smoothest, creamiest gelato possible

But after moving to the south coast in 2015, the pair realised they wanted to work on something they truly felt passionate about.

Sam explained: "Annie has always been passionate about food, and the house we bought came with a ramshackle market garden overflowing with fruit.

The couple's firm won Champion Ice Cream prize from Taste of the West, and Best Dairy Producer in the Taste of Dorset awards

"Given the lovely old dairy farms surrounding us, it was a natural step to consider making ice cream.

"Neither of our previous companies were very successful but they taught us a huge amount about business, and not least, the importance of doing something you really love. Annie and I now work all day every day at Baboo, and I think part of the reason it’s going so well is that we love it."

The company's name 'Baboo' comes from ‘Babu’ or ‘Babushka’ which means Grandmother in Russian. Annie’s granny - who taught her to cook - escaped Stalin in 1931, with five small children and the pair wanted to name the firm after her.

Husband and wife duo Annie and Sam Hanbury launched ice cream business Baboo in 2016

Their flavours range from pure and simple such as chocolate gelato or raspberry sorbetto, to carefully blended combinations such as salted caramel or maple with pralined walnuts. One restaurant even recently asked them to create a "black garlic" special.

Baboo's recipe for success so far has been a combination of hard work, local ingredients and the way they sell their ice cream.

Annie explained: "We make our ice cream from scratch. That is very unusual in the world of ice cream. Most manufacturers use flavours and pastes. We use local organic milk from a farm that has been in the same family for five generations, and who’s fifty fresian cows are well cared for.

"We also want people to enjoy buying ice cream. Ice cream is a very emotional product. Just think back to your childhood, and it’s pretty likely that memories of family, beaches, summer and ice cream come through.

Baboo sells its products through kiosks and restaurants

"Our servers are well trained to make buying an ice cream fun. Everyone is encouraged to taste different flavours, and we love talking about where we get each ingredient from."

Sam and Annie's business is set to grow in 2018, with plans to double the size of their factory by the end of this year and open new kiosks along the Devon and Dorset coastline.

Sam paid tribute to his wife for everything she's done getting the business off the ground. He said: "It is Annie that has done the hard work in creating the recipes, and in the look and feel of our brand.

"I’m just incredibly proud to be married to her, and happy with her success. She is so obsessed with the details, and it is great when that pays off."

Baboo's Top 3 tips for budding entrepreneurs

  • In any start up the process takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you expect. Be prepared to be flexible.

  • Running your own company is much harder work than you can ever imagine. Forget having holidays. And forget getting rich quick. But it is incredibly rewarding emotionally.

  • Let people help you. We didn’t expect it when we started but people are incredibly supportive. Our staff, our suppliers, and our customers are so kind and go the extra mile for us. We’ve not come across it in other industries, but in the artisanal food industry, people really do help each other.