Articles Tagged with ''ice cream processor''

Solar panels power two food processing plants in Pittsburg, Calif. Ramar Foods makes its Magnolia brand ice cream and novelties in one 17,000-square-foot facility.

Ramar Foods started out serving Asian groceries. Now, after repositioning its Magnolia ice cream brand, the California processor is picking up mainstream retailers. Yet the third-generation management stays true to its Filipino roots.

A regional dairy with national backing – that’s Mayfield Dairy Farms, a unit of dairy powerhouse Dean Foods Co. Mayfield extends its reach with ice cream retailers, while its fluid milk products satisfy consumers and foodservice customers.

Over the last 100 years, Velvet Ice Cream, a self-styled ‘small batch’ producer, built a reputation for making premium products by using only the best flavorings, nuts, fruits, ribbons and inclusions.

The fourth generation of the Dager family is now leading this 100-year-old dairy company. The ice cream maker stays relevant with social media, new flavors and good-old-fashioned premium product.

When an ice cream processor tells me, “We do things a little differently than most,” I think to myself, “That’s what they all say.” True, most dairies do create unique recipes and flavors, but it still comes down to processing, filling and packaging, and how many variations on those themes can there be?

If you are the second- or third-generation family member running a dairy operation, chances are you were too young (or not yet born) to recall the enormity of starting up the business. Often, these dairy entrepreneurs did not have a lot of cash, reams of marketing data or industry-specific knowledge.