--- title: "HIG’s Heatwave Plan: De IJsmaker" date: 2026-06-30T14:18:00+02:00 author: Nina Swaep canonical_url: "https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/higs-heatwave-plan-de-ijsmaker/" section: Articles --- ![HIG’s Heatwave Plan: De IJsmaker](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1800x880_crop_center-center_90_none/Schermafbeelding-2026-06-30-om-14.26.08.png) [ Interviews ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/interviews/)# HIG’s Heatwave Plan: De IJsmaker **Ten years, four locations, two cities. A fifth ice cream shop recently joined the list, here on Mariniersweg, just around the corner from HIG. And if you thought Rotterdam entrepreneur Adnan Bourich was finished, you’d be mistaken. Quite the opposite: his current goal is to open fifteen De IJsmaker locations. After that, he’ll see what comes next. “Who knows, perhaps it will be time to pass our concept on to the younger generation. After all, we’re the ice cream parlour of the future.”** It’s an hour before opening when we meet Adnan at the gleaming new location of his growing gelato empire, [De IJsmaker](https://deijsmaker.nl/). He looks around proudly. “Beautiful, isn’t it? I believe the way you sell your products, the atmosphere in your shop and the transparency of the production process are just as important as the quality of the product itself. Eating ice cream should be a complete experience.” He points towards the large open kitchen at the back. “We currently still make all the ice cream for our Rotterdam locations in our little 50 m² premises on Witte de Withstraat, but that’s no longer practical. We’re just waiting for the equipment to arrive, and then we can start producing here as well. I’m really looking forward to it.” **Digital kiosks and the De IJsmaker app** Adnan continues the tour. “I came up with the reversed neon logo after a visit to Eastern Europe, based the mirrored wall on inspiration from Paris, and designed the organically shaped concrete tiered seating as a nod to Dubai’s hospitality scene. But I do occasionally come up with ideas of my own,” Adnan says with a laugh. And he certainly does: Adnan’s ice cream parlours were the first in the country to let customers place all their orders through digital kiosks. “We started experimenting with them during the pandemic, when we had to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres and the queues took up the entire pavement. To be honest, it was quite a nerve-racking decision. Technology isn’t cheap, and while everyone else was tightening their purse strings, I decided to invest. “But during the very first week, we saw that more than 60% of our revenue came from kiosk sales. The only problem was that the kiosks didn’t solve the queues—they made them even longer,” Adnan says with a laugh. “It created a mixture of panic and triumph. That was when I decided to go all-in on digital, putting the kiosks front and centre and developing our own distinctive style of content to accompany them.” Another of Adnan’s ideas is the De IJsmaker app, which is currently under active development. “It won’t be long before *regulars* can order and pay from home. They’ll then be able to collect their ice cream themselves or send it to someone else as a gift. You can also connect a *loyalty* programme to the app, with special offers and discounts that create a highly personalised experience for regular customers. The kiosks, which were still *state of the art* only a few years ago, will then primarily serve passing customers. And that’s fine—you have to remain adaptable.” **From law student to ice cream entrepreneur** Adnan’s resilience becomes clear when he describes the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. “You might not expect it, but I studied law in Leiden. I didn’t enjoy it at all, but my parents are immigrants, so I persevered and completed the degree. While graduating, I became completely obsessed with *speciality coffee*. I always drank it at a small coffee bar here in the city. I loved the idea of running a place that people would always look forward to visiting. And what always makes everyone happy? Exactly—ice cream!” He continues: “Through my network, I came across a small hospitality venue in Rotterdam. Despite leaving my name with the municipality and making countless requests for them to call me back, I heard absolutely nothing for six months. I became so frustrated that I wrote a letter to the then mayor, Aboutaleb—who, like me, is of Moroccan heritage. He was so impressed by my story that I was invited to meet with him and several senior municipal officials. I told them that I was deeply disappointed by how people from bicultural backgrounds were being treated. A name tells you absolutely nothing about a person, especially in an international city like Rotterdam.” ## **Five locations and the journey to fifteen** “During my early days as an entrepreneur, I made and served the ice cream, prepared staff rotas, handled planning and administration, washed the dishes and took out the rubbish. When I stood at the front of the shop, no one believed I was the owner,” Adnan says with a laugh. “That experience certainly shaped me. I have a drive to prove myself that reaches all the way to Tokyo—but it has also taken me a long way.” “And hopefully, it won’t be long before we go even further. We now have four locations in my home city of Rotterdam and one in my favourite city, Antwerp. We’re also working on two locations in another city. I’d love to see the company grow to fifteen locations under my leadership. After that, we’ll see what happens. Perhaps it will be time to pass the baton to a younger entrepreneur who can take De IJsmaker even further into the future!” **The secret to perfect vanilla ice cream** There’s just one question left for Adnan: what is his favourite ice cream flavour? Adnan grins. “You probably won’t believe me, but it’s vanilla. Vanilla is the foundation, and it simply has to be right. Wherever I go, I immediately try the vanilla ice cream—and I can tell you that it’s rarely as good as ours.” His secret? “Using real, high-quality vanilla pods, scraping them out by hand and cooking the seeds with the cream. That’s the only way to make it perfect!” You’ll find Adnan’s fifth location just around the corner, within easy walking distance of your workplace. Alongside ice cream, it also serves coffee, including iced coffee, milkshakes and other funky drinks. Whatever you do this summer, make De IJsmaker part of your heatwave plan and *stay cool!* De IJsmaker | Mariniersweg 74A Mon–Sat: 11:00–23:00 Sun: 12:00–23:00 [www.deijsmaker.nl](https://deijsmaker.nl/) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/DSC09503.png) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/DSC09504.png) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/Schermafbeelding-2026-06-30-om-14.25.58.png) [ ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_910x600_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9309_HIG_007.jpg) #### Interviews ### In the Neighbourhood: Blick Brillen ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/in-the-neighbourhood-blick-brillen/) [ ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_910x600_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9328_HIG_349.jpg) #### Interviews ### Catch of the Decade: Cristèl Klandermans ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/catch-of-the-decade-crist%C3%A8l-klandermans/)