The 5th Generation Ice Cream Company Says Demand for its Vintage-Made Ice Cream Has Spurred Growth and Popularity for its Brand
Skowhegan, Maine—November 6, 2015 —Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream, announced today that it is expanding the company’s Skowhegan factory to meet increased demand for its vintage, handcrafted, award-winning ice cream. The $1.6 million, 3,810 square foot addition and plant renovation marks the most significant expansion Gifford’s has made to its 48,000 square-foot plant in its 41-year history and doubles the ice cream maker’s total production capacity. Gifford’s announced the news at a unique ice-cream scooping ceremony attended by employees, community members, business leaders and United States Senator Susan Collins on November 6 at 11:30 a.m.
“For five generations, the Gifford family has demonstrated that with dedication, service, and a commitment to making a quality product, a local brand can become a mainstay throughout the region,” said Senator Susan Collins in a statement. “I am delighted to join Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream Company, its employees, and customers in celebrating the expansion of their Skowhegan facility.”
In August, Gifford’s hit an all-time sales record, with a 12.4 percent sales increase of its quarts and premium bulk flavors – 10 percent above the industry average. Company officials attribute this spike in sales to organic growth and say that by 2016, Gifford’s will be on track to surpass a previous record of 2 million gallons of ice cream sold annually. All of Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream is made using antique 1940s freezers in an historic yellow clapboard factory in Skowhegan, Maine. The company remains privately owned and is now being operated by 5th generation Gifford family members.
“We are deeply honored to be here today marking an important expansion of this modest yet dependable building, which has faithfully served us for four decades,” said John Gifford, the company’s co-owner. “As we look ahead to the next many decades, we feel fortunate to be able to forecast increased demand for our ice cream and a renewed commitment to our hometown of Skowhegan.”
Gifford continued: “As a family that has ridden out some significant financial storms over the years with an amazingly dedicated group of employees, there are no words to express our depth of pride and gratitude for today’s announcement.”
The Skowhegan factory dates to the 1930s when it served as a holding station for local farm milk that was shipped to Boston. In 1974, the building was purchased by the Gifford family from Hunt’s Dairy, and was run for many years as a milk company. In 1980, endeavoring to continue a longstanding family tradition, the Gifford family started making ice cream in a corner of the milk plant. Three years later, the Giffords sold the entire fluid milk business to Oakhurst and went solely into making premium ice cream.
The expansion will create much needed additional floor space and allow Gifford’s to bring in two more large steam kettles, a new quart filler, and a new shrink wrapper for retail packaging. These additions will let the ice cream maker run two production lines simultaneously.
“The expansion is something we needed in order to grow,” said Gifford. “It basically allows us to operate at faster speeds, create more efficiencies, double our quart filling capacity from 1 million to 2 million quarts per year, and accommodate the increased need for our homemade bases and ripples.” Gifford added that the company, which currently employs 37 full-time staff, hopes to add at least two full-time employees by next summer as part of the expansion. Gifford’s recently hired two new staff members to help with retail sector relations and increasing sales further down the East Coast.
Awards, Accolades and Territory Expansion
In 2015, as the company celebrated significant anniversaries at two ice cream stands in Maine (Waterville turned 25; Skowhegan turned 35) the company also expanded into new major supermarket chains in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.
Today, Gifford’s operates five ice cream stands in Maine, makes over 100 flavors, and sells ice cream in over 1,500 retails outlets from Maine to Virginia and in select states as far west as Illinois. Among the top selling flavors are Old Fashioned Vanilla, World’s Best Chocolate, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Low Fat Frozen Yogurt, and its signature flavors inspired by Maine tradition: Moose Tracks and Muddy Boots.
The contractor for the project is E. W. Littlefield and Sons based in Hartland, Maine. The anticipated completion date for the project is April 2016. The company is considering a second phase to the expansion project that would allow them to add a second state-of-the-art hardening system to the new space.
About Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream
Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream, world-class ice cream from a small town in Maine, is a fifth-generation, family-owned company that sources its fresh milk and cream exclusively from independent family farms, and uses antique Cherry Burrell freezers to slow churn the most delicious, creamiest ice cream possible. The company has earned numerous international and national “First Place” and “World’s Best” awards for its premium ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sherbet. Gifford’s sells its ice cream from Maine to Virginia and in select states as far west as Illinois. In Maine, Gifford’s has five famous ice cream stands. For more information visit www.giffordsicecream.com. Follow Gifford’s Ice Cream on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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