Ice cream manufacturers and co-packers

Ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt and frozen desserts. Every fact is checked against the manufacturer's own published information, with the date we checked it.

Ice cream minimums are usually counted in pints, cases of pints or bulk tubs. A co-manufacturing platform's published example is 4,500 cases of pints¹, and the minimums these plants publish, listed below, show how much smaller a first run can be at a small creamery.

Several of these plants also offer private label, which puts your brand on a recipe the plant already owns. When the recipe is yours instead, a food and beverage law firm recommends that the brand keep ownership of its formulas, process specifications and artwork². Ask which of the two a plant is offering before you compare prices. The frozen food section covers frozen meals and dough from other plants.

In this directory

6 plants in this directory make ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt and frozen desserts on their own websites. They are spread across 6 states, with the most in Colorado, Illinois and North Carolina. 1 publish a minimum order, 3 state a GFSI-benchmarked certificate and 4 say they take startups or pilot runs.

6plants

1publish a minimum

3state a GFSI certificate

4take startups or pilot runs

Processes they state

Batch pasteurization2
Extrusion2
Baking1
Bottling1
Brewing1
Canning1
Continuous cooking1
Cup and tub filling1

Packages they fill

Bulk and foodservice4
Single-serve cups2
Tubs2

Certifications they state

Kosher3
SQF3
HACCP1
Halal1

Minimums these plants publish

Sugar Lab of Colorado960 pints per flavor for packaged co-packing or private label; 100 three-gallon buckets per custom bulk flavor

The plants

Filter these in the directory

Alamance Foods
Graham, NC
Veteran-owned, family-led co-packer and private label manufacturer with three plants in Graham and Burlington, North Carolina, making aerosol whipped cream and toppings, cold foam,...
Process
Not stated on their site
Minimum order
Not published
Takes startups or pilot runs
CooLab Foods
Franklin Park, IL
Ice cream and frozen dessert co-manufacturer in Franklin Park, Illinois, making ice cream, custard, gelato, sorbet, Italian ice and non-dairy, vegan and nut-based frozen desserts in...
Process
Batch pasteurizationExtrusionEnrobing and coatingCup and tub filling
Packaging
Single-serve cupsBulk and foodserviceTubs
Minimum order
Not published
SQF (level not verified)
Lopez Island Creamery
Anacortes, WA
Ice cream maker founded in 1982 on Lopez Island and now producing in a 17,000 sq ft factory in Anacortes, Washington, offering co-packing and private label manufacturing of ice cream,...
Process
Not stated on their site
Packaging
TubsBulk and foodservice
Minimum order
Not published
Takes startups or pilot runs
Pierre's Ice Cream Company
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, Ohio ice cream maker that offers full-service private label manufacturing of ice cream, light ice cream, frozen yogurt, no-sugar-added, non-dairy frozen desserts, sherbet and...
Process
Not stated on their site
Packaging
Single-serve cupsBulk and foodservice
Minimum order
Not published
SQF (level not verified)
Sugar Lab of Colorado
Federal Heights, CO
Small-batch ice cream co-packer and private label maker in Federal Heights, Colorado, run by the team behind High Point Creamery. It flavors, adds house-made inclusions to and...
Process
Not stated on their site
Packaging
Bulk and foodservice
Minimum order
960 pints per flavor for packaged co-packing or private label; 100 three-gallon buckets per custom bulk flavor
Takes startups or pilot runs
The Food Processing Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
University of Nebraska-Lincoln service center in the Food Innovation Center in Lincoln, operating since 1983, that offers product and process development, pilot plant scale-up,...
Process
ExtrusionHPP (in house)Batch pasteurizationEmulsifying and homogenizingSpray dryingFreeze drying+9 more
Minimum order
Not published
SQF (level not verified)Takes startups or pilot runs

Read before you call

Other categories

Sauce, condiment and dressing co-packers Beverage manufacturers and co-packers Bakery co-packers and manufacturers Snack manufacturers and co-packers Candy and chocolate manufacturers Frozen food co-packers Jerky co-packers and manufacturers Dry mix and seasoning co-packers Supplement contract manufacturers Food incubators, shared kitchens and pilot plants

Sources

PartnerSlate, Explaining the Meaning of MOQ (2024) (Company)
Cummings Law, Legal Considerations for Co-Packing Agreements (Law firm)

General information, not legal or regulatory advice. Confirm your product's requirements with a process authority or regulator. Plant facts come from each manufacturer's own published information; see the data policy.