It seems less and less people want to scream for ice cream these days.
There’s been a spate of bankruptcies in the ice cream industry in recent years.
Most recent in the turmoil, the U.S. Department of Justice has shut down one of the country’s largest ice cream manufacturers.
The DOJ permanently prohibited Maryland-based ice cream manufacturer, Totally Cool Inc., from making or distributing any adulterated food products, as reported by CBS News.
Federal officials filed the consent decree in March, claiming that Totally Cool Inc. and its owner, Michael Uhlfelder, violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA) by selling adulterated ice cream products.
The ruling came nearly a year after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall for dozens of Totally Cool Inc. ice cream products after a listeria contamination was found — Totally Cool Inc. filed for bankruptcy shortly after in August 2024.
The Baltimore Business Journal reported that the company sold its assets for $650,000 in March.
Totally Cool Inc. products were sold under several major ice cream distributors including Hershey, ChipWich and Friendly’s — which faced its own financial turmoil over the years.
Friendly’s filed for bankruptcy in 2020 due to financial disruption caused by the COVID pandemic — the family favorite frozen eatery has tried to bounce back since but has met more soft struggles.
The ice cream-centric eatery peaked at 804 restaurants nationwide 30 years ago. In January, the number of friendly’s melted down to 90 locations.
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Founded in Springfield’s Pine Point neighborhood, Friendly’s no longer owns its factory in Wilbraham. The plant is currently operated by Dairy Farmers of America, it makes ice cream for Friendly’s restaurants as well as for sale in supermarkets.
The restaurant chain is also no longer headquartered in Western Massachusetts, but on Long Island, New York.
Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy Store — a midwestern Friendly’s counterpart — was also dealt a serving of financial woes.
In 2024, Oberweis Ice Cream entered bankruptcy. The business was sold to Hoffmann Family and Companies shortly after entering Chapter 11, according to a company press release.
There are over 40 Oberweis Ice Cream in the midwest area.
Both Oberweis Ice Cream and Friendly’s have launched several new products and initiatives to freshen up their menus for their prospective consumers.
