Blue Bell Ice Cream will be back in the coolers in Fort Worth area beginning Monday, Nov. 2, the company announced today.
Blue Bell will enter phase two of its five phase market re-entry plan Nov. 2 that includes north central Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth and Waco areas) and north central and southern Oklahoma (Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas).
“We have experienced tremendous consumer response and support since our return to stores on Aug. 31,” said Ricky Dickson, vice president of sales and marketing for Blue Bell. “This support, coupled with our current production capacity, has slowed our ability to enter additional distribution areas. We are working as hard as we can to keep stores in phase one stocked without jeopardizing the new quality and safety procedures we have implemented to ensure our products are safe and of the highest quality.”
Currently Blue Bell Ice Cream is being made in Broken Arrow, Okla., and Sylacauga, Ala.
“We continue to make good progress and expect to begin production at our main plant in Brenham in the next few months,” Dickson said. “With our Broken Arrow plant now producing ice cream, we are confident that we can build enough inventory to enter phase two beginning Nov. 2. We do not have a date for any other phases at this time. As soon as we know that we can properly service the customers in an area with an adequate supply of Blue Bell Ice Cream we will move to the next phase.”
For now Blue Bell is producing five flavors of ice cream in the half gallon and pint sizes: Buttered Pecan, Cookies ’n Cream, Dutch Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla and The Great Divide. More flavors will be added in the future. 12-pak Homemade Vanilla Cups and 12-pak Homemade Vanilla and Dutch Chocolate Cups are also available in stores.
Blue Bell in April voluntarily recalled all products after its treats were linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.
The company stopped production and started extensive cleaning and decontamination at its plants in Brenham, Alabama and Oklahoma.
www.bluebell.com