Schoep's Ice Cream is an

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

manufacturing company based in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

.About Us
. Schoep's Ice Cream. "Schoep's Ice Cream, 2070 Helena Street, PO Box 3249, Madison, WI 53704." Retrieved Jan 27, 2018. It is the largest independent ice cream manufacturer in Wisconsin.

History

Schoep's Ice Cream was founded by E.J. Schoephoester in 1928. Schoephoester made and sold the ice cream in his grocery store. By 1937 Schoep's Ice Cream had grown in local popularity, and E.B. Schoephoester sold his company in 1940 to Peter B. Thomsen, a butter maker.Welcome to Schoep's Ice Cream
Schoep's Ice Cream. Retrieved Jan 27, 2018. The company has been kept in the Thomsen family, and as of 2008, it was owned in part by nineteen members of the Thomsen family. As of 2018, four third-generation Thomsens work at the Madison headquarters. Third-generation management includes Alan Thomsen, CEO; Eric Thomsen, VP of innovation and technology; Richard Thomsen, operations manager; and John Thomsen, food service sales and special events.

Receivership

On October 14, 2019 Schoep's Ice Cream announced that the company had filed for

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

. Schoep's was sold to California-based company Brothers International Desserts on February 27, 2020.

Operation

All of Schoep's Ice Cream is currently produced from a single factory located on Division Street in

. By 2008, Schoeps was producing 6,000 gallons of ice cream an hour and 2.5 million gallons a year. With this high production rate, Schoeps has been recognized as the top producer of ice cream in the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Due to its growth, in 2005 Schoep's opened a $7 million, distribution center on Manufacturers Drive, near the Dane County Regional Airport. This new facility featured space for 3,600 pallets and 14 loading-dock doors. Before this facility was built, Schoeps had shipped all of their ice cream from two loading docks at their factory. In 2016, Schoep's produced 10 million gallons of ice cream, and topped $60 million in sales, shipping its product to all 50 states and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In 2017, Schoep's made more than 12 million gallons of ice cream. Schoep's also makes frozen

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

, frozen

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

, lite ice cream, sherbert, and ice cream

novelties A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or ...

.Schoep's Products
Schoep's Ice Cream. Retrieved Jan 27, 2018.

Contracts

Walgreens

Schoep's Ice Cream under the Schoep's brand is not generally distributed outside of the Midwest United States, but instead as

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

brand Ice Cream and other private pack names. Since 1993, Schoep's has been the sole producer of ice cream sold under the

label. This contract accounts for more than 25 percent of Schoep's business.

Other

Schoep's is a licensed manufacturer and distributor of ice cream novelties such as

Eskimo Pie Edy's Pie (formerly known as Eskimo Pie) is an American brand of chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil. It was the first such dessert sold in the United States. It is marketed by Dreyer's, a division of Froneri. In wake of th ...

, Popsicle,

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and

Nestlé Crunch Crunch is a chocolate bar made of milk chocolate and crisped rice first introduced in 1938. It is produced globally by Nestlé with the exception of the United States, where it is produced under license by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of ...

Ice Cream Bars. Currently, the supermarket version of

Gilles Frozen Custard Gilles Frozen Custard (, commonly pronounced as ) is a brand of frozen custard that originated at the Gilles Frozen Custard Stand, the oldest frozen custard stand in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and one of the first in the country), dating back to 1938. ...

is manufactured and distributed by Schoep's.

References

External links

Official website
{{Walgreens Dairy products companies of the United States Ice cream brands Companies based in Madison, Wisconsin Food and drink companies based in Wisconsin