Gifford's famous ice cream is made in Maine

The history of America is full of famous brothers. Comedy has its Marx brothers and baseball its Alou brothers. The Wright brothers reportedly had something to do with manned flight. In the world of ice cream, there are the Gifford brothers of Skowhegan, Maine.

Listening to Roger and John tease each other brings to mind another pair of brothers: Tom and Ray Magliozzi of public radio’s “Car Talk.” During a photo shoot for this article, John said Roger’s image would need to be Photoshop’d to make him look better. I said to John, “You must be the younger brother.” And sure enough, I was right.

The dairy roots of Roger and John Gifford grow deep. Great-grandfather Nathaniel Main had a passion for ice cream. Their grandparents on their mother’s side owned a dairy farm. Their parents operated a dairy processing plant in Connecticut, and later in Skowhegan.

Roger earned a degree in dairy science from the University of Tennessee. The Monday after graduation he started work in his parents’ operation. He acquired the work ethic from his father, who said there are no days off in the dairy business. A snow day might have closed schools, but it didn’t mean a day off. To their father, a snow day meant he had extra hands in the dairy, John recalls.

John and Roger purchased the Skowhegan plant from their parents in 1983 and decided to concentrate on making ice cream. (See related article on page 58.) Roger had the expertise in the plant; John had the sales and marketing savvy.

About the same time the Giffords decided to make super premium ice cream, a couple of hippies in Vermont named Ben and Jerry were developing the market for high-butterfat, low-overrun super-premium ice cream. Their efforts helped all such processors.

Roger and John cite the teachings of the legendary C.E. “Doc” Lawrence as a major influence on how to make ice cream and how to be good at processing. Drawing on old family recipes, the Giffords made ice cream in a batch freezer, loaded it onto a truck and then went knocking on doors. Jimmy’s Market in Bingham, Maine was the first customer. From the start, Gifford’s called its ice cream “famous.” It was a brash move, but prescient. The world championship honors would come.

The early days were tough sledding. They were making 10,000 gallons a year, and struggling to sell that. The Giffords recall the day they told their six employees (referred to reverently as “the Original Six”) that success depended on working long hours but that they could only afford to pay them for a 40-hour week. One of the six, Gene Aubry, said, “You can pay us 40 hours, but we’ll work as long as it takes to finish the job.” Joel Violette, the last of the Original Six, remembers that meeting. He said his wife wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do because the paper mill down the road was paying better wages. But Violette stayed and is now plant manager.

Gifford’s will make 1.6 million gallons of ice cream in 2012, with gallon sales expected to increase 15% this year alone. Management figures it can double sales in the next 5 to 10 years. The Giffords say they have the capacity.

Foodservice (including colleges, nursing homes and scoop shops) accounts for 60% of sales and retail 40%. Retail accounts include Hannaford Supermarkets (owned by the Delhaize Group), Shaw’s (Supervalu), Roche Brothers and Dave’s Marketplace. The dairy processor sells as far south as northern Virginia and as far west as Buffalo, N.Y. Last year, Gifford’s Ice Cream bought the rights to the name of Gifford’s Ice Cream & Candy, a long-time confectioner in Silver Spring, Md., north of Washington, D.C.

The main focus of Gifford’s Ice Cream is bulk cans. Gifford’s sells through distributors, but has its own sales force of 10 (nine full-time and one part-time.) The sales staff works the foodservice distributors trade shows including PFG and Sysco.

Taste matters, of course, but also what convinces accounts to take Gifford’s is a side-by-side comparison, said Lindsay Gifford-Skilling, John’s daughter and the company’s head of sales. She’ll cut open a competitor’s carton and a Gifford’s container to show the distribution of ripple or inclusions.

It is this sort of forensic examination that has earned Gifford’s top honors in the World Championship Dairy Products contest run by the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association. Gifford’s chocolate ice cream was named Grand Champion in the Grade A and Ice Cream category for 2010 and 2011. The Grand Champion is selected from all the first place winners in nine ice cream categories (including chocolate, vanilla and French vanilla) and Grade A products (including fluid milk, yogurt, sour cream and whipped cream).

In 2011, Gifford’s was the best of 79 ice cream entries. To win the Grand Champion designation back-to-back is unprecedented, said WDPA’s executive director Brad Legreid. Dairy foods are judged on technical factors. By looking at melted ice cream, contest judges can discern the composition of ingredients. They score the product on a number of factors, including visual, taste and texture.

Locally sourced, hand-crafted

Food trends, like the current interest in locally sourced ingredients and hand-crafted techniques, no doubt play a role in Gifford’s success with some consumers. Gifford’s buys milk and cream from Maine dairy farmers, and there is definitely an element of hand-crafting of the product. Instead of computer-controlled freezers, Gifford’s relies on an experienced plant manager to fine-tune the WWII-era freezers as they churn the ice cream. Plant manager Violette can hear if a machine is operating properly. All this plays into a story of artisan-quality ice cream.

Gifford’s fights the same battles that much larger ice cream processors encounter (indeed, any dairy processor): rising prices for cream, stabilizers and other ingredients. Its location in central Maine puts it far from major population centers, so transportation costs are high. On the other hand, Gifford’s work force is experienced and turnover is low. They can make a good product consistently.

Even if Gifford’s can double its annual production to 3 million gallons, it will remain a small business. Thus, it relies on partnerships and association memberships that offer purchasing discounts and consultative advice. Gifford’s belongs to the All Star Dairy Association, Lexington, Ky., and the Institute for Family Owned Businesses, Brunswick, Maine, among others. In 2008, Gifford’s received the Institute’s Maine Family Business Award. Jeff Sterne, the executive director of the All Star Dairy Association, called Roger Gifford “great” at operations and John strong in sales and marketing. Lindsay, who attended the association’s annual meeting this year in Indian Wells, Calif., is “hungry to learn,” Sterne said. “She’s reached out and got the brand into new markets.” 

 There are perhaps two days in the spring that New Englanders anticipate. One is opening day at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox. The other is opening day of Gifford’s scoop shops, if the comments on the company’s Facebook page are any indication. It could be freezing or snowing in Maine, but Gifford’s always opens its five walk-up stores on the third Friday in March. The stores are in Auburn, Bangor, Farmington, Skowhegan and Waterville. Independent owners operate 400 other stores throughout New England. Some promote branded Gifford’s ice cream; other operators sell the ice cream under their own names.

Gifford’s employees do whatever it takes to keep these scoop shop operators happy. If a distributor doesn’t have a flavor or can’t make a delivery, a Gifford’s employee will grab product from the freezer and deliver it. Once, when a fire destroyed a distributor’s warehouse just before the July 4th holiday, John drove a truckload of ice cream to a scoop shop in Connecticut.

“Our mindset is we have to be there,” Lindsay said. “We’ll do what we say.”

Product development

The scoop shops serve as test markets for new flavors. Customer favorites include Grape Nuts (particularly in Maine) and coffee (Rhode Island). Gifford’s has licensed Andes candies from Tootsie Roll Industries for a new flavor this year. Two other flavors — bananas Foster and toasted coconut — were developed with suppliers.

This year, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of L.L. Bean, Gifford’s developed Bean’s Muddy Boots, a vanilla ice cream with sweet caramel ripple and chocolate brownie inclusions. Bean, based in Freeport, Maine, invited various companies from the state to participate in its celebration.

“L.L.Bean and Gifford’s share many of the same qualities. They are both family-owned, Maine companies that take pride in producing a quality product right here in Maine,” said Kelly Warsky, L.L.Bean’s partnership marketing manager.

During a brainstorming session of Warsky’s marketing team, someone suggested ice cream. Gifford’s is the only food company involved, said Laurie Brooks, senior public relations representative with L.L. Bean. Gifford’s presented five concepts and the committee picked Muddy Boots. (The boot was Bean’s first product.)

The flavor is sold only at Gifford’s five family-owned scoop shops and at independent stands, restaurants, colleges, universities, hospitals and hotels throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia. Sale proceeds, expected to be $8,000 to $10,000, will be donated to Healthy Hometowns, a nonprofit Maine-based program that encourages an active lifestyle through outdoor recreation.

In the community, Gifford’s supports its scoop shops and the charitable efforts of independent ice cream stand owners. The Cones for Kids program offers a free treat to children 14 and younger who are involved in sports, academic clubs, music, dance, scouting and other activities. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, Gifford’s sent a trailer-and-a-half of Stars and Stripes ice cream to the New York City Fire Department and to Andrew Air Force Base in Maryland. Every year since, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., has ordered the ice cream (a vanilla product with raspberry ripple and red-white-and-blue star inclusions). 

John and Roger have stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the business they built. “It’s a hobby and a habit,” Roger says of coming to the office. The brothers stay in touch through weekly conference calls and monthly board meetings. A third brother, Arland, is the company’s sales manager. Their sister, Donna, is not involved in the ice cream company, but her son Ryan does work in the company, as do John’s son J.C. and another daughter Samantha.

“Being a Gifford doesn’t get you a job, but it does get you an interview,” Roger said. In other words, you have to earn the position. Lindsay, her siblings and cousins are the fifth generation involved in the dairy business. Lindsay, who is not big on formal titles, calls herself the “ice cream goddess.” Obviously, the family’s sense of humor has not skipped a generation.  N

The Flavor Board

Gifford’s constantly develops new flavors and combinations, and drops those that don’t perform as well. Five company-owned scoop shops allow Gifford’s to test market new flavors. The following list represents some current flavors.

Black Raspberry

Brownie Batter

Butter Pecan

Cake Batter

Camp Coffee

Caramel Caribou

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Cherry Amaretto Chip

Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Rainforest Crunch

Cookies N’ Cream

French Vanilla

Grape Nuts

Maine Lobster Tracks

Maine Black Bear

Maine Deer Tracks

Maine Maple Walnut

Maine Wild Blueberry

Mint Chocolate Chip

Moose Tracks

Old Fashioned Vanilla

Pink Peppermint Stick

Pistachio Nut

Peanut Butter Caramel Cookie Dough

Peanut Butter Cup

Smurf (Cotton Candy)

Strawberry Cheesecake

Strawberry

Toasted Coconut

Vanilla Bean