In celebration of their 100th birthday, Blue Bell will send two 18-wheelers hauling ice cream and displays about Blue Bell’s history to 66 cities in their 16-state market. Sounds like a lot of fun – maybe they could send us weekly updates from the road!
In its nearly 100 years, the so-called “little creamery in Brenham” has evolved from a handful of dairy farmers making butter from their excess milk to the country’s third-largest ice cream maker with 250 products and 45 flavors available across the South.
In 1911, when the then-named Brenham Creamery Corp. made its first ice cream, it produced two gallons a day in a hand-cranked wooden ice cream freezer. When CEO and president, Paul Kruse worked at the plant as a kid, he hand-cut rectangles of vanilla ice cream, laid chocolate wafers on both sides and wrapped the ice cream sandwiches in paper one-by-one.
From Jan. 1 to April 30, Blue Bell customers will get a chance to name their own flavors based on themes from states where the ice cream is sold. Blue Bell will then create flavors to fit each name, and winners will be honored at the Brenham headquarters.
Blue Bell already has developed a special flavor to mark 2007. Century Sundae is Homemade Vanilla ice cream with swirls of caramel, chocolate, whipped topping and maraschino cherries.