[12][13] These expansions are accompanied with the purchase and/or construction of distribution centers in new markets that serve areas within a 75-mile radius. Which means I help provide ice cream to the guys who bring it to the stores so you guys can buy it! There are 170 calories in 1/2 cup (74 g) of Blue Bell Rocky Road Ice Cream. [31] Three of the five patients with listeria died. Well as I mentioned we are opening a branch in Virginia, other than that I'm not really sure if we have any other planned expansions. Ed Kruse - MyBestYears.com INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT, "Blue Bell names new president, new chairman", https://incfact.com/company/bluebellcreameries-brenham-tx/#, "How a billionaire brought back Blue Bell ice cream", "Blue Bell expanding to Vegas due to popular demand", "Blue Bell ice cream expanding to North Las Vegas area with distribution centre", "Ice cream licker could face 20 years - CNN Video", "Copycat Blue Bell ice cream licker arrested in Louisiana", "The leading 10 ice cream brands of the United States in 2014, based on sales (in million U.S. dollars)", "Blue Bell Creameries Inc - Movers & Shakers - company profile", "Blue Bell CEO encourages students to meet future challenges head-on", "Orbiting station gets solar panels, and then dessert", "Blue Bell Ice Cream- Still a Half Gallon", "Blue Bell Recalls All Products After Listeria Outbreak", "Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Blue Bell Creameries Products (Final Update)", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Blue Bell recalls all its ice cream products over Listeria concerns", "Blue Bell to dispose of 8 million gallons of ice cream after recall", "Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Blue Bell Creameries Ice Cream Products", "Ice-Cream Recall Sends Chill Through Food Industry", "Blue Bell: We haven't laid off anyone in 100 years and we won't do it now", "1,450 Blue Bell workers losing jobs after listeria problems", "Blue Bell will begin limited distribution Aug. 31", "Broken Arrow facility begins production", "Blue Bell ice cream returning to stores in Richmond and elsewhere in Virginia beginning this week", "Dept. In December 2015, CBS Evening News reported that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) had launched a federal criminal investigation into Blue Bell Creameries, to determine "what exactly Blue Bell executives knew about the contaminations and unsanitary conditions, when they knew, and what they did in response". In July 2019, The Blue Bell Creameries went viral after a teenage female licked one of their ice cream tubs at a Walmart in Texas, then placed it back in the freezer; she was later arrested. I so miss Blue Bell ice cream... used to live in Texas 8 years ago. In 2006, annual sales exceeded $400 million. [22] People living outside the sales area can have the ice cream shipped to them (although this has temporarily been halted while the company is ramping up production after the recalls), and former President George W. Bush (a former Governor of Texas) often had the ice cream shipped to Camp David during his administration. [47][48] The investigation, by the DOJ's Consumer Protection Branch, is reportedly led by trial attorney Patrick Hearn, who successfully prosecuted executives of the Peanut Corporation of America in 2015. All production and packaging takes place within Blue Bell facilities, which are able to produce over 100 pints per minute. [6], The company has its roots in the Brenham Creamery Company, which opened in 1907 to purchase excess cream from local dairy farmers and sell butter to people in Brenham, Texas, a town situated approximately 70 miles northwest of Houston. [17] As of 1997, Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla was the best-selling single flavor of ice cream in the United States,[9] and in 2001, Forbes named Blue Bell the best ice cream in the country. [53], In October 2020, the former CEO was indicted for federal charges stemming from the outbreak. (2020). [9], According to figures gathered by Statista, a market data and statistics portal, while combined private labels sold more, in 2014 Blue Bell was the best-selling ice cream brand in the United States. Loading... Unsubscribe from Family Food Dude? If you live in Texas or anywhere in its vicinity, you probably heard of the “tragedy” (clearly I’m using the word lightly here) that happened like a year ago where the Blue Bell plant had to shut down due … It’s not one of the flavors in the rerelease so far. As of 2015, the company operated three manufacturing facilities, with the largest facility in Brenham, and auxiliary facilities in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Sylacauga, Alabama. In March 2018, the company began distribution to much of Indiana, midsection of Kentucky & northern New Mexico. The board of directors hired E.F. Kruse, a 23-year-old former schoolteacher, to take over the company on April 1, 1919. This is rocky road ice cream at the next level and it’s fantastic. Anyone's welcome to host or participate in an AMA. And a tie between Happy Tracks and Red Velvet Cake for third. [5] Since 1919, it has been in the hands of the Kruse family. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. By the end of the 1970s, sales had quadrupled, and by 1980 the creamery was producing over 10 million gallons (37,850,000 liters) of ice cream per year, earning $30 million annually.[10]. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. It's nearing gelato levels of fantastic. Of these, 66 are flavors of ice cream. Entirely and blessedly absent are the cloying sweetness, chalky texture, and oily, gummy aftertaste that afflict many mass-manufactured ice creams."[17]. Even in those states where Blue Bell plans to return, it will not necessarily return to all of its pre-recall markets by the final phase. These facilities employed a combined 2,800 employees, with 850 of the employees working out of Brenham. Nigh impossible. :). We're slowly expanding. 50% off! And yes it is, kind of. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Inampudi, Naveen and Debbie Z. Harwell. But the description of Blue Bell's Rocky Mountain Road piqued my interest, since it seems to offer more than the basics. Select locations now offer curbside pickup & home delivery The recall was issued on an assortment of items produced at its creameries, due to the discovery of five cases of listeriosis in Kansas believed to be caused by products produced at its creamery in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1907 in Brenham, Texas. ", "Paul Kruse: Former Blue Bell Creameries CEO faces charges in connection with alleged listeria contamination coverup", "Blue Bell ice cream's former CEO indicted on charges that he covered up Listeria contamination", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_Bell_Creameries&oldid=985199627, Food and drink companies established in 1907, Dairy products companies of the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. how hard is it to not eat ice cream all the time? The company's corporate headquarters are located at the "Little Creamery" in Brenham, Texas. In 2015, Blue Bell issued a series of recalls that eventually shut down production and led to all of its products being recalled on April 20, culminating in job cuts and furloughs (as well as the reduction of its 23-state sales territory) resulting from the shutdown the following May. [39] 1,450 (or 37 percent) of the company's employees would be laid off, while another 1,400 employees were furloughed until cleanup/repair operations concluded, and the remaining 1,050 involved in essential operations and cleanup/repair operations had wage reductions imposed on them.[40]. Detwiler, Darin. Who exactly are those people on the Blue Bell ice cream boxes? [44], On January 28, 2016, the company resumed distribution to large portions of the Southeastern US.[45]. However, the company started out in Brenham, Texas and has kinda worked itself southeastward! It could create a 10-US-gallon (38 L) batch of ice cream every 20 minutes. We have a special employee box that we get to choose what goes inside, so that makes it even harder!! It's awesome. And a tie between Happy Tracks and Red Velvet Cake for third. We're no farther west than Colorado as far as I know. Just kidding, but anyone who dislikes Blue Bell's Rocky Road isn't thinking straight. I don't know! Why is your pumpkin spice pecan ice cream so good? That same year, in 1936, the company purchased its first continuous ice cream freezer, which could make 80 US gallons (300 L) of ice cream per hour. [8] Under his leadership, the company expanded its production of ice cream to the surrounding Brenham area and soon became profitable. Also, you can have Blue Bell shipped straight to your door wherever you are (at least you could last time I checked), but it's pretty pricey. "[36] On July 14, 2015, Sid Bass, a prominent Texas investor, became a partner and investor with the company; Blue Bell secured a $125 million loan to continue operations. [26], Blue Bell introduced its flagship flavor, Homemade Vanilla, in 1969[5] and was the first company to mass-produce the flavor Cookies 'n Cream. Where did you find it???? And we have a much higher butter fat content than our competitors so that shit is delicious. The Hal Herrin Estate graciously donated the 18 acre Bell Mountain Summit to Towns County and on February 18, 2016 was formally named Bell Mountain Park and Historical Site and the observation deck erected was named and dedicated as the Hal Herrin Scenic Overlook. [19] The sales area is primarily concentrated in the Southern United States, and has been sold as far west as Las Vegas, as far north as Indianapolis and Denver, and as far east as Richmond, Virginia. [30] While Blue Bell spokespersons reacted positively to the name change proposal, the post became controversial among some Facebook users who dismissed the original name as inoffensive. I do get a discount! ". Because it's made with love! Overall, this area comprises only 20% of the United States. Kruse refused to accept a salary for his first few months in the position so that the company would not be placed in further debt. [34][35], At the same time, the company shut down production and commenced cleanup and repair operations at its manufacturing facilities. The FDA found that the company failed to follow standard practices to prevent contamination; two years prior to the recalls, the company "repeatedly found listeria" in its Broken Arrow facility. [5] Four years later, in 1996, Blue Bell opened a third manufacturing facility opened in Sylacauga, Alabama, east of Birmingham, and eventually expanded into Atlanta and Miami. of Justice investigating Blue Bell for deadly Listeria outbreak", "DOJ Investigating Blue Bell Creameries Response to Listeria Contamination", "US Department of Justice probes into Blue Bell's Lysteria outbreak", "Justice Department investigates Blue Bell Creameries over listeria response", "Why would the Justice Department be investigating Blue Bell now? For much of its early history, the company manufactured both ice cream and butter locally. Get free shipping at $35 and view promotions and reviews for Blue Bell Ice Cream Rocky Road [33] As a result, on the evening of April 20, 2015 the company took precautionary measures and expanded its recall to cover all of its products—a recall of over eight million gallons, to be disposed of in a sanitary landfill. [32], Despite a series of subsequent recalls, and the temporary shutdown of its Broken Arrow plant, "an enhanced sampling program" launched by Blue Bell produced "several positive tests for Listeria in different places and plants", including three further cases in Texas. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to William Kristoph and Kristoph's K-Time with proper and specific direction to the original content.