BLUE BELL TO BE BACK ON SHELVES LOCALLY AUGUST 31ST

  

Blue Bell Ice Cream will be back on local store shelves by the end of the month.

In a press statement posted on the company’s website Monday afternoon, Blue Bell has announced that its ice cream will be back on August 31 as part of a phased-in return to the market.

Brenham, TX, August 17, 2015 – Blue Bell Creameries announced today it will begin distributing ice cream to select markets on Monday, August 31.

Blue Bell has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state health officials in Alabama and Texas of its plan to re-enter select markets on a limited basis.  

“Over the past several months we have been working to make our facilities even better, and to ensure that everything we produce is safe, wholesome and of the highest quality for you to enjoy,” said Ricky Dickson, vice president of sales and marketing for Blue Bell.  “This is an exciting time for us as we are back to doing what we love…making ice cream!”

The Blue Bell production facility in Sylacauga, Ala., began producing ice cream in late July. Additional production facilities in Brenham, Texas, and Broken Arrow, Okla., are still undergoing facility and production process upgrades similar to those made at the Alabama plant.

Due to the limited production capacity while producing in one facility, Blue Bell will re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. The first of the five phases will be similar to how Blue Bell began and include the Brenham, Houston and Austin, Texas, areas, as well as parts of Alabama, (Birmingham and Montgomery) where the product is being made.  The next phases include:

• Phase Two:  North central Texas and southern Oklahoma
• Phase Three:  Southwest Texas and central Oklahoma
• Phase Four:  The majority of Texas and southern Louisiana.
• Phase Five:  Complete  the states of Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas and begin distribution in Arkansas, Florida, northern Louisiana and Mississippi. This phase will also include only parts of the following states:  Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Blue Bell will move on to each phase based on product availability and when it can properly service the customers in an area. With the exception of phase one, no other dates have been determined for when each expansion will take place.

For more information and to follow the company’s progress visit bluebell.com.

In a video which accompanied the press release, company officials say the process of bringing the product back to market would take time.

https://vimeo.com/136514867

Currently, only the Sylacauga, Alabama Blue Bell plant is the only one up and running. Some furloughed employees there have been brought back to work.

Trucks carrying the product have arrived in certain parts of the Blue Bell distribution area, including Texas.