Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams facts for kids
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| Industry | Food service |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Founder | Jeni Britton-Bauer |
| Headquarters |
Columbus, Ohio
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U.S.
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Number of locations
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30 cities |
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Area served
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Regional for some products and national for others |
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Key people
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Stacy Peterson (CEO) |
| Products | Ice cream and novelties |
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is a popular ice cream company. Its main office is in Columbus, Ohio. Jeni's has more than 80 ice cream shops and sells its products in many stores across the United States.
Contents
How Jeni's Ice Cream Started
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams was started by Jeni Britton-Bauer. She is still the company's chief creative officer, which means she helps create new and exciting flavors.
Before she started her ice cream business, Jeni studied art history and fine art at The Ohio State University. One day, a chemistry student gave her some scented chemicals. This made Jeni curious about smells. She started collecting essential oils and even made her own perfumes to sell.
Jeni experimented with a spicy essential oil from cayenne pepper. She mixed it with chocolate ice cream to make a unique spicy frozen chocolate. She realized that ice cream was a "perfect carrier of scent." This meant ice cream could hold and share amazing smells and flavors. Soon after, she decided to make scented ice cream her business and left college.
Jeni first sold her special ice cream at a farmer's market in Columbus, Ohio. In 1996, she opened her first ice cream shop called Scream Ice Creams. It was in the North Market area of Columbus. Jeni worked there for several years, creating new flavors. Some of her first popular flavors included Salty Caramel, Wildberry Lavender, and Queen City Cayenne. After four years, she closed Scream to learn even more about making ice cream at Penn State.
The first Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams shop opened in 2002, also in the North Market. This new shop offered many more choices than Scream. Within a year, Jeni's husband's brother joined the company, helping it grow.
In 2006, Jeni opened her first store outside of North Market. The company continued to open more locations. In 2009, John Lowe became the company's first CEO. As of November 2022, Jeni's had 1,800 employees.
Where You Can Find Jeni's
As of June 2025, Jeni's "Scoop Shops" are in fifteen states and the District of Columbia. You can also buy Jeni's ice cream pints in over 3,000 high-end grocery stores and markets across the country. Plus, you can order them online! In 2021, the company made $95.7 million.
Delicious Flavors
As of August 2022, Jeni's had 37 different ice cream flavors on their menu. They often create new and changing flavors based on the season or special partnerships.
Special Partnerships
Jeni's has teamed up with other companies to create unique flavors. For example, in 2022, they worked with Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey to make a non-alcoholic 'Boozy Eggnog' flavor. They partnered again in December 2023 for a 'Hot Toddy' sorbet. Jeni's also worked with the American band Goose in June 2025 to create the 'Goose Tracks' flavor.
Food Safety at Jeni's
On April 23, 2015, Jeni's had to recall some of their ice cream pints. This was because there was a chance of Listeria being present. Listeria is a type of bacteria that can sometimes be found in food. The problem came from a machine in Jeni's Ohio factory. Jeni's had another recall in June 2015, which was related to the first one. There was also a recall in June 2024 for their ice cream sandwiches, which were made by another company called Totally Cool.
Jeni's took many steps to fix the problem. They recalled all affected products, cleaned their factories very carefully, and retrained their employees. A crisis management expert named Jonathan Bernstein said that Jeni's first response to the Listeria issue was "technically perfect." He said, "They said we don't know if anybody's gotten sick, but we're recalling everything, and they did it quick. In terms of response, they did the best possible thing they could do."
What People Say About Jeni's
Jeni's ice cream has received many good reviews. The Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Jeni's in 2010. It was also reviewed positively in newspapers like The Washington Post (2011) and The New York Times (2011). U.S. News & World Report even ranked Jeni's as the #1 ice cream in America in 2012.
The Chicago Tribune said in 2011 that Jeni's was becoming famous for making excellent desserts. They noted that Jeni's uses milk from a family farm in Ohio. Time magazine mentioned that Jeni's has a big fan base, especially among people from Ohio and ice cream lovers.
The Atlantic praised Jeni's flavors, saying they are not just fun but also made with a lot of effort and skill. Today also gave Jeni's a positive review in 2012. In 2007, The New York Times said Jeni's had "surpassed the creativity of all other ice cream makers" with flavors like goat cheese and Cognac fig sauce.
Awards and Recognition
Jeni's has won several awards for its delicious products. In 2012, Jeni's received a Sofi Gold Award for their Lemon Frozen Yogurt. In 2013, they won another Sofi Gold Award for their "Outstanding Product Line." From the very beginning, Jeni Britton-Bauer has used local products from Columbus and Ohio in her ice cream, like milk, fruit, and whiskey.
Fast Company magazine named Jeni Britton-Bauer one of the Most Creative People in Business in 2018. In 2019, Inc. magazine listed Jeni's as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
Jeni Britton-Bauer also received an honorary doctorate degree from Ohio State University in 2016. This was the same university she had left years ago to start her ice cream career. She even gave the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
Cookbooks by Jeni
Jeni Britton-Bauer has written several cookbooks to share her ice cream secrets.
- In 2011, she published her first cookbook, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. This book became a New York Times best-seller. The Wall Street Journal called it the "homemade-ice-cream-making Bible." Jeni won a James Beard Foundation Award for this cookbook, which is a very important award in the food world.
- In 2014, she published Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts. This book helps people create their own ice cream-based treats.
- In March 2019, Jeni published her third cookbook, The Artisanal Kitchen: Perfect Homemade Ice Cream: The Best Make-It Yourself Ice Creams, Sorbets, Sundaes, and Other Desserts.
