Production Process of Ben & Jerry's
Production process Ben & Jerry’s: from cow to cone
Step 1: the milk
The milk that is used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream comes from 10.000 cows from hundreds of local family farms. The milk from these farms goes to the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, based in St. Albans, Vermont.
The Ben & Jerry’s factories based in the USA only work with the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery to provide the milk and cream. The two companies have a close relationship and interaction. Ben & Jerry’s pays a premium price for the milk and cream, and St. Albans Cooperative Creamery only delivers products with an excellent quality.
Ben & Jerry’s also supports the dairy farmers that deliver their milk to St. Albans Coop. When prices for dairy are very low, dairy farmers are often threatened by a financial crises. E.g. in 2003, when dairy farmers were desperate due to extremely low dairy prices. But Ben & Jerry’s stepped up to the plate and created funds for emergency situations for many struggling dairy farmers.
At the Cooperative Creamery, the milk is separated into heavy cream and condensed skim milk. The cream and skim milk are then shipped by tanker trucks to the Ben & Jerry’s factories in St. Albans and Waterbury, both based in Vermont. Arriving at the factory, the milk and cream are pumped in four 6.000 gallons storage silos, at 2° Celsius. It waits there until it can be converted into Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Step 2: mixing the basic ice mix
In the overall ice cream production scheme, making the basic ice mix is one of the most important part of the process. A highly skilled and experienced person, the Mix Master, performs mix-maxing procedures in the Blend Tank. The Blend Tank is a 1000-gallons stainless steel mega-blender, which mixes all the ingredients for the basic ice mix together. The main ingredients are fresh heavy cream and condensed skim milk, from St. Albans Dairy Cooperative, egg yolks and liquid cane sugar. The Mix Master sometimes
Step 1: the milk
The milk that is used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream comes from 10.000 cows from hundreds of local family farms. The milk from these farms goes to the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, based in St. Albans, Vermont.
The Ben & Jerry’s factories based in the USA only work with the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery to provide the milk and cream. The two companies have a close relationship and interaction. Ben & Jerry’s pays a premium price for the milk and cream, and St. Albans Cooperative Creamery only delivers products with an excellent quality.
Ben & Jerry’s also supports the dairy farmers that deliver their milk to St. Albans Coop. When prices for dairy are very low, dairy farmers are often threatened by a financial crises. E.g. in 2003, when dairy farmers were desperate due to extremely low dairy prices. But Ben & Jerry’s stepped up to the plate and created funds for emergency situations for many struggling dairy farmers.
At the Cooperative Creamery, the milk is separated into heavy cream and condensed skim milk. The cream and skim milk are then shipped by tanker trucks to the Ben & Jerry’s factories in St. Albans and Waterbury, both based in Vermont. Arriving at the factory, the milk and cream are pumped in four 6.000 gallons storage silos, at 2° Celsius. It waits there until it can be converted into Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Step 2: mixing the basic ice mix
In the overall ice cream production scheme, making the basic ice mix is one of the most important part of the process. A highly skilled and experienced person, the Mix Master, performs mix-maxing procedures in the Blend Tank. The Blend Tank is a 1000-gallons stainless steel mega-blender, which mixes all the ingredients for the basic ice mix together. The main ingredients are fresh heavy cream and condensed skim milk, from St. Albans Dairy Cooperative, egg yolks and liquid cane sugar. The Mix Master sometimes