The story begins in 1999 when Peter Moody, co-owner of ShakeAway, was running a café in Bournemouth and for some reason he tried blending a packet of Rolos with ice cream and milk. The result was a taste sensation.

After selling the café he opened up the first ShakeAway in Bournemouth, which was quickly followed by a second outlet in Southampton that represented the company’s first foray into shopping centres.

Although an offer was on the table to open up in the new West Quay development this seemed a step too far for the newcomer and the Bargate centre was chosen instead. There was a quick realisation that the concept fitted well into this sort of environment.

“Shopping centres are by their very nature less seasonal, which helps us [sell cold milk shakes] and the many students and kids you find in the centres also find our business appealing. We are therefore attractive to [landlords of] centres; we’re different, bright and funky, and good at generating footfall,” explains Moody.

Two years later, stores on high streets in Brighton and Bath were opened with each helping build the reputation of the business. “As time has gone by we find it easier to get into places as we’ve created this sector and are the market leaders,” he says.

What has also helped the company grow is its relative immunity to the recession. “It’s a treat and in this climate a treat for £3.20 is not like buying a leather sofa or a car. I’d not say we are recession-proof but we buck the trend. We’re 90 per cent on-budget for the year to August 2009 and not many retailers can give those sorts of numbers,” suggests Moody.

This will be music to the ears of landlords, especially as he says the company has plans to expand “fairly significantly” beyond its current 16 units, which will see it enter more shopping centres.

Although ShakeAway can trade in all types of centre from the smaller developments to the big guns like Lakeside (where it opened a store in May 2008) Moody says: “We probably prefer less high-brow centres as our customers probably don’t shop in Next and Marks & Spencer. We go where there are H&M, New Look and Claire’s Accessories shops.”

He also states that since the company has a southern-bias the objective is to build a greater geographic spread. To this end the 12 sites currently in solicitors’ hands include units in Nottingham, Sheffield’s Meadowhall, Cambridge and Norwich. Of these, a total of seven will be in shopping centres.

Helping this aggressive expansion is the decision taken in 2006 to also grow the company through franchising. “Having made sure ShakeAway worked in a variety of locations and positions we then offered it to franchisees in the spring of 2007 and the first unit opened in October 2007,” he explains.

Of the 12 planned new stores Moody says seven will be franchised, which highlights how this route will likely provide the faster growth opportunity compared with company-owned outlets that require funding: “Since Christmas it has gone mad with probably seven or eight proper enquiries per week.”

In order to protect the ShakeAway name and the covenants on the franchised units Moody says it is a condition of the agreement with franchisees that ShakeAway takes the lease on sites and then sub-lets.

The fact that the average unit is a modest 500 sq ft of trading space also helps reduce the commitments required by franchisees. Also making the concept attractive is its relative simplicity. “It’s a great business that’s fun. It is not sophisticated and there’s not a lot of buying to be done. But the following is huge,” explains Moody.