Dive Brief:
- Blue Bell Creameries has announced its official return to ice cream sales beginning Aug. 31. Initial distribution will only be in certain sections of Texas and Alabama.
- The announcement is the first step of a five-stage plan to return Blue Bell products back to retail stores in 15 states.
- "Blue Bell said Monday that the first phase of its sales resumption would effectively trace the company’s original rollout, including markets in Brenham, Houston and Austin, Texas, as well as others in Birmingham and Montgomery in Alabama," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Dive Insight:
Texas billionaire Sid Bass's investment is paying off with Blue Bell products now officially returning to market. Blue Bell has been moving quickly, with test production at its Sylacauga, AL, facility last month and a return to official production this month. Last week, Blue Bell announced via social media that its trucks were back on the road.
These are major steps for a company that was nearly devastated by the initial effects of the recall, including having to lay off more than one-third of its workforce. Blue Bell has taken the steps necessary to clean up its facilities, retrain employees, and pass state testing needed to return to production. But now it will be up to Blue Bell to convince retailers and consumers that its products are safe.
Blue Bell's creameries in Broken Arrow, OK, and Brenham, TX, are still undergoing upgrades and do not have an official date to return to production.