Operator of Henderson, Nevada, ice cream plant acquired by Ferrero Group

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Operator of Henderson ice cream plant acquired by Ferrero Group

By Sean Hemmersmeier Las Vegas Review-Journal
December 7, 2022 - 1:14 pm

Iowa-based ice cream maker Wells Enterprises Inc., which operates a 200,000-square-foot facility in Henderson, will be acquired by Italian firm Ferrero Group, in a deal announced Wednesday.

Ferrero, known for its sweet treats such as Ferrero Rocher and Nutella, will purchase the operations and ice cream brands of the family-owned Wells Enterprises for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close early 2023, according to the announcement.

Wells’ portfolio of ice cream brands includes Blue Bunny, Bomb Pop, Halo Top and Blue Ribbon Classics as well as licensed brands such as The Cheesecake Factory at Home. In 2019, the company purchased Unilever’s Henderson ice cream plant and hired more than 250 of the facility’s employees.

Wells plans to continue overseeing its U.S. operations, including the facility in Henderson, according to a news release. A spokesperson for Wells confirmed the 250 employees in Henderson remain with the company.

{snip}

Wells operates production facilities in Dunkirk, New York, and at its headquarters in Le Mars, Iowa, in addition to Henderson.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at [e-mail]. Follow @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Yay concentration of capital

One guy will own it all someday.

On the flip side these companies that manage brands have investments to defend. Recently I bought a pound - 11 ounces these days - of Eight O'Clock Coffee. That was spun off from A&P before it went bankrupt, and sold a couple of times. Now I think owned by a Chinese company among other brands it owns. But they manage the brand as an upscale item. 100% pure Columbian beans, and wow is that good coffee.

[peppertree]

3. +1

This sounds like a future Luxxotica of ice creams.

Which, come to think of it, might not be such a bad thing - as it would, given similar results, make satisfying one's sweet tooth unaffordable to many.

Not fair by any means - but in the end, probably for the best.

[DemReadingDU]

6. Eight O'Clock Coffee

I remember my mom used to buy Eight O'Clock Coffee from A&P, decades ago, maybe 1950s!
It is still really good to drink.

[peppertree]

2. This may mean the closure of the Henderson plant

The water shortage crisis in the Las Vegas area is now critical - with residents basically being barred from running dishwashers daily, bathing every day, or watering lawns (for the few who still have one).

An 200,000 ft² ice cream plant must consume colossal amounts of water.

[Warpy]

5. They'd use it mostly for cleaning the equipment

AFAIK, they sell ice cream throughout the southwestern US. I'd hate to see them shut down for any reason.

I'd rather see the huge cattle operations close down, along with the land squandering water to grow hay for them. Water use for those industries is much heavier than it is for that ice cream plant. Some things just don't belong in the desert like big green lawns and large cattle operations.

[Warpy]

4. Blue Bunny's Bunny Tracks ice cream was well worth the GI problems afterward

so I hope they don't change the formula of that one. It had so much stuff crammed into it a picture of the container should be next to "decadent" in the dictionary.

[DemReadingDU]

7. Blue Bunny Ice Cream Sandwiches are delicious too!