The founders of JonnyPops print inspirational messages on the wooden sticks of their clean-label ice cream novelties. They have a social mission, too: support treatment for substance abuse.
Neal Gottlieb, the founder of Three Twins Ice Cream, needed more capacity to keep up with demand for his organic ice cream. His facility in Petaluma, Calif., was maxed out. Adding shifts was not feasible. Gottlieb bid the work to co-packers but said their quotes were “sky-high” and the quality of the test runs was a “disaster.”
Three Twins Ice Cream has grown into the leading brand of organic ice cream in just 10 years. In the course of a decade, its gone from a scoop shop to owning manufacturing facilities in California and Wisconsin. A Three Twins cause-marketing program has conserved 8,000 acres of rain forest in South America. Through another program, the company donates 1% of its sales to environmental groups.
Wells Enterprises, our 2016 Dairy Processor of the Year, overhauled its Blue Bunny ice cream brand. New marketing, new flavors and new products have led to higher sales.
The Wells Enterprises’ ice cream plant runs 20 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of this heavy-duty schedule, once a year the maintenance crew takes apart and rebuilds each piece of equipment.
When it comes to artisan ice cream making, flavors, transparency and authenticity are what matter, according to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream. The company makes dairy-based and vegan ice creams for its scoop shops, food trucks and retail customers. The company claims it makes the “absolute best vegan ice cream,” and it has a customer following and a taste that backs up that claim, (this editor can attest).
The Brooklyn-based ice cream maker has found success building its own mini-empire of stores and trucks. It can boast of steady growth while staying true to its dedication to quality.
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream wants to make people happy with ice cream. The company set out to revive the classic American ice cream truck and the art of traditional ice cream making using only the highest-quality ingredients and no stabilizers. For the company, it’s about being authentic and making ice cream that is truly pure.
Dean Foods Co. in May said it will acquire the manufacturing and retail ice cream business of Friendly’s Ice Cream for $155 million in cash. Friendly’s is a leading ice cream brand in the Northeast, as well as a restaurant company.
When Whole Foods said it wanted to carry pints of The Comfy Cow’s super-premium ice cream, the founders invested in a bigger plant and additional equipment. A growing franchise operation also is creating demand.
In 2015, The Comfy Cow invested a reported $2 million in the building it’s leasing in the Regency Pointe Business Center in Louisville’s Jeffersontown neighborhood. Over the next 10 years, the project is expected to create 40 to 50 new jobs. Currently there are 14 employees. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved tax incentives up to $350,000.
Seven years ago Tim and Roy Koons-McGee opened up one ice cream parlor in Louisville, Ky. This year they are on pace to have 11 scoop shops and 300 grocery stores carrying pints of their super-premium ice cream.
Crystal Creamery of Modesto, Calif., is the No. 1 milk brand in Sacramento. It aims to make its Humboldt brand a national player in organic ice cream. For CEO Frank Otis, managing two brands can be ‘tricky.’
Modesto-based Foster Farms Dairy, founded in 1941, knows a thing or two about names and brands. In 2007, it acquired Crystal Creamery of Sacramento, which traces its roots to 1901. Two years later, Foster acquired Fortuna-based Humboldt Creamery, which dates to the 1920s.