Blue Bell Creameries is an American food company that manufactures ice cream. It was founded in 1907 in Brenham, Texas. For much of its early history, the company manufactured both ice cream and butter locally. In the mid-20th century, it abandoned butter production and expanded to the entire state of Texas and soon much of the Southern United States. The company’s corporate headquarters are located at the “Little Creamery” in Brenham, Texas. Since 1919, it has been in the hands of the Kruse family. As of 2015, Blue Bell is the #3 selling ice cream manufacturer in the United States.
lue Bell produces over 250 different frozen products. Of these, 66 are flavors of ice cream. Twenty of the flavors are offered year-round, while an additional two to three dozen are offered seasonally. In addition to ice cream, the company produces frozen yogurt, sherbet, and an array of frozen treats on a stick. Unlike competitors which have reduced their standard containers to 48-56 fluid ounces (1.42-1.66 L), Blue Bell continues to sell true half-gallon (64 fl oz/1.89 L) containers, a fact it mentions prominently in its advertising.
The company introduced its flagship flavor, Homemade Vanilla, in 1969 and was the first company to mass-produce the flavor Cookies ‘n Cream. Although the company at one time made Cookies ‘n Cream from Nabisco’s Oreo cookies, buying ordinary retail packages, today it bakes its own cookies. As of 1997, Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla was the best-selling single flavor of ice cream in the United States, and in 2001, Forbes named Blue Bell the best ice cream in the country.
