Gifford’s Ice Cream is starting to make ice cream again at its Skowhegan plant about a year after a fire significantly damaged the facility.
The fire in February 2023 swept through the Maine-based ice cream company’s production facility, causing extensive damage and forcing it to stop production and seek help from out-of-state ice cream companies in order to meet customer demand.
The fire was ruled accidental.
“Nothing can prepare you for what we experienced on February 2nd last year,” Gifford’s Ice Cream CEO Lindsay Skilling said. “The damage was so extensive we had to take most of our factory and offices down to the studs. It has been a year of pivoting and problem-solving.”
Gifford’s Ice Cream resumed production at its Skowhegan facility with the first test batches rolling off the line in early February.
To get back up and running, the ice cream company has carved out a smaller production area — roughly 30 percent of what its actual production area will be once the factory is fully restored — and has two lines running to produce quarts and bulk flavors for its wholesale customers.
Gifford’s said the production plan is prioritizing fan favorite flavors that their partners weren’t able to make in 2023 like toasted coconut and black raspberry chocolate chip frozen yogurt.
In order to supply its own family-owned ice cream and partner stands, as well as retail and food service channels following the fire, Gifford’s said it had to partner with four co-packers to produce its ice cream. The co-packers were able to make 30 of Gifford’s popular flavors, but many fan favorites above could not be made.
Over the next several months, Gifford’s will continue to bring production in-house and wind down reliance on co-packers in order to build the company’s inventory levels for all its distribution channels while working to restore full production capabilities by the end of 2024.