File / Skowhegan Fire Department
Skowhegan firefighters on the scene after a fire at the Gifford's Ice Cream plant in Skowhegan on Feb. 2, 2023.
February 21, 2024
A year after fire, Gifford's Ice Cream resumes in-house production
Courtesy / Ethos
Gifford's Ice Cream Chief Operating Officer J.C. Gifford and CEO Lindsay Skilling.
A year after a devastating fire forced a halt to production, Gifford's Ice Cream on Tuesday announced it's again turning out frozen treats at its Skowhegan plant.
The Maine-based company said the first test batches rolled off the line in early February. By the end of 2024, the company said, it's aiming to bring all production back in-house to Skowhegan.
To get back up and running, the family-owned business has carved out a smaller production area, roughly 30% of the full area. There are two lines to produce quarts and bulk flavors for wholesale customers.
Giffords is now focusing on flavors that the other manufacturers were not able to produce last year, including toasted coconut and black raspberry chocolate chip frozen yogurt.
“We can only make certain flavors here because the process we use to make some of our bases and ripples can’t be duplicated elsewhere,” said J.C. Gifford, COO of Gifford’s Ice Cream.
“Our first run of toasted coconut and black raspberry chocolate chip frozen yogurt should start to hit grocery stores by mid-March. This is the first step in our journey to get these long-awaited flavors back into the hands of our customers.”
The February 2023 fire, ruled accidental, caused extensive damage and forced the manufacturing site to shut down for months.
To meet customer demand, the company worked with four out-of-state partners to temporarily produce the company’s ice cream for its retail, food service and stands while the family made the necessary repairs to the building.
“Nothing can prepare you for what we experienced on Feb. 2 last year,” said Lindsay Skilling Gifford’s Ice Cream CEO and a 2016 Mainebiz Women to Watch.
“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.”
“We can say now that the path forward hasn’t always been clear,” she continued. “But we never questioned our commitment to coming back stronger and better than ever. We’re not at full production capacity yet, and we’ll be working hard to build our production capabilities and inventory levels over the next several months, but I can say it feels great to be making our own ice cream again in Skowhegan.”
Gifford's Ice Cream is a fifth-generation, family-owned company that operates retail stands in Bangor, Farmington, Skowhegan and Waterville.
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