This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Blue Bell Creameries, also known as the “Little Creamery in Brenham.” To celebrate, the Texas-based company is sponsoring many festivities throughout 2007. They include an ongoing tour of the country with a multi-vehicle exhibit appropriately named, the 100 Years Tour. At each location, the main attraction, a chocolate-colored 18-wheeler, with images of Homemade Vanilla cartons topped by 100 lit birthday candles, opens into a museum of sorts. Inside it is decorated with various Blue Bell images. It features a display of the current product line and imaginative multi-media presentations on the company's history and how ice cream is made.
Blue Bell purchased a used 53-ft specialty-display trailer manufactured by Featherlite. The interior of the trailer was completely remodeled by Blue Bell employees. A five-door display with real insulated doors mounted on special cabinets to house empty Blue Bell ice cream cartons replicate a smaller version of what shoppers usually see inside their local grocery or convenience store. Blue Bell employees also added a five-ton AC system to cool the trailer during summer months of the tour. A 75,000-watt generator is enclosed in the nose of the trailer. Colors of the trailer canopy resemble an old country barn with wood sides and a tin roof.
The trailer is equipped with state-of-the art audio-video equipment that includes two 52-inch video screens — one at each end of the trailer — and six kiosks that each have a 20-inch screen for playing information through DVDs. It takes an entire team of company employees to drive, set-up, takedown, and operate the exhibit.
Every visitor will receive a free serving of the company's famous Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream in a special 100th Anniversary cup. Visitors also will have a chance to purchase commemorative 100th Anniversary merchandise.
Blue Bell will donate the profits from the sale of merchandise to the Boys and Girls Club in each city it visits. Club participants also are invited to a special sneak preview at each stop.
Founded in 1907, the regional company has grown from its humble beginnings in Texas to become the number three branded ice cream manufacturer in the country despite being available in only 17 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
The 100 Years Tour will make stops in 66 cities in the 17 states where Blue Bell products are sold.
Fleet logistics —
- Blue Bell Creameries, 1101 S Blue Bell Rd, Brenham TX 77833 Regional ice cream manufacturer with 160 trailers and 82 tractors providing product to 17 states.
Custom suppliers —
- Master-Bilt Refrigeration Solutions, 908 Hwy 15 N, New Albany MS 38652
- Larsen Sails Inc, 1041-A 17th Ave, Santa Cruz CA 95062
