Wells Enterprises facts for kids

Wells Enterprises, Inc. is a big American food company. It is the largest family-owned ice cream maker in the United States. The company is based in Le Mars, Iowa, and is famous for making Blue Bunny ice cream.

Wells is the second biggest ice cream producer in the U.S., right after Unilever. Besides Blue Bunny, Wells also makes other popular brands like 2nd St. Creamery and Bomb Pop. They also make ice cream for other companies and for Weight Watchers.

How Wells Enterprises Started

Fred H. Wells Jr. began his business in 1913 in Le Mars, Iowa. He started by delivering milk to homes. He bought a horse, a wagon, and some milk containers for $250.

Around 1925, Fred and his sons began making ice cream. They sold it in nearby Iowa towns like Remsen, Alton, and Sioux City. In 1928, another company bought their ice cream delivery system in Sioux City. This company also got the right to use the "Wells" name for ice cream there.

The Blue Bunny Name

In 1935, the Wells family wanted to sell ice cream in Sioux City again. But they couldn't use their own name, "Wells." So, they held a contest in a local newspaper to find a new name. A man from Sioux City won $25 for suggesting "Blue Bunny." He got the idea after seeing how much his son liked the blue bunnies in a store window during Easter.

After Fred H. Wells Jr. passed away in 1954, his sons and a cousin took over the family business. They kept expanding the company. In the 1950s, they built the main ice cream factory, called the North Plant, in Le Mars. Later, in 1963, they built a Milk Plant. The family officially made the business a company in 1977, calling it Wells' Dairy, Inc.

Growing Bigger

The company grew a lot in the 1980s. New offices were built in 1980. Wells also built new places for its many trucks that delivered milk across Iowa. In 1983, Wells bought a factory in Omaha. After fixing it up, this factory processed milk, yogurt, and fruit juice.

In the mid-1980s, the North Plant in Le Mars got much bigger. New production lines and a tall freezer were added. This helped the plant make twice as much ice cream. The expanded plant became huge, covering an area as big as a city block.

In 1991, Wells' Dairy bought the Bomb Pop business. Before this, Bomb Pop was mostly known in one part of the country. But in 1992, Wells started selling Bomb Pops all over the U.S.

The company built a huge new factory, the South Ice Cream Plant, in Le Mars. This plant is 900,000 square feet and has a 12-story-tall freezer! With two ice cream factories in Le Mars, Wells is the world's biggest ice cream maker in one place. This is why Le Mars is known as the "Ice Cream Capital of the World."

The original flavor Bomb Pop

In 2003, Wells opened an ice cream factory in St. George, Utah. This helped them serve customers on the West Coast better. However, in 2014, Wells announced that this Utah factory would close.

In 2007, Mike Wells became the CEO of Wells Enterprises. In 2008, the company started the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope Program. This program works with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. It lets people across the U.S. suggest educational charities to receive a $25,000 grant.

On December 7, 2022, the company announced that it was bought by Ferrero Group. Ferrero Group is an Italian company known for making candies and chocolates.