Kleinpeter Farms Dairy announced today it will not resume ice cream production, which was suspended in December. As previously reported by Daily Report, the dairy’s decision to halt ice cream manufacturing came after months of battling—and successfully overcoming—quality issues at the dairy’s Airline Highway processing plant.
At the time, Jeff Kleinpeter, who has since taken a leave of absence as president and CEO, said the decision was related to the inability to find a top-flight manager to oversee ice cream production.
In a statement issued today, however, General Manager Kenneth Kleinpeter Sr. suggests the decision is a strategic business move.
“In recent months, we’ve achieved some goals that are very important to us. We’ve been certified by the Safe Quality Food Institute, the globally recognized authority on food safety and quality,” Kleinpeter says. “We’ve made major investments in facility upgrades to ensure that our products are of the highest quality. We’ve decided it makes sense to concentrate our efforts on our core dairy products, where we are market leaders.”
Though Kleinpeter ceased ice cream production in December, it has continued distributing inventory it had on hand. The company says any ice cream not sold by March 1 will be collected and credited to retailers’ accounts. The dairy plans to convert the ice cream production facility into refrigeration space and its four ice cream trucks will be turned into milk delivery units. The dairy was producing 25 flavors of ice cream, which was carried in 200 stores, a company spokeswoman says.
Kleinpeter launched its premium ice cream line in 2008 and expanded two years later into the high-end, gourmet ice cream market with its Crème de la Kleinpeter line.
—Stephanie Riegel
