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Ben & Jerry's Ice
Cream, a Vermont based company, is well known for their 2 founders
and their irresistible ice cream flavors. The founders of Ben &
Jerry's Ice Cream, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were childhood
friends that met in 1963 in a Long Island school during gym class.
in 1977 Ben and Jerry moved to Vermont where they worked on a ice
cream project together which turned into a booming business in 1978
when they opened their first scoop shop that featured their homemade
ice cream. The scoop shop was a renovated gas station in downtown
Burlington VT.
On August 3rd, 2000,
Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. was acquired by Unilever which is a
British-Dutch company. Since the acquisition, not much has changed
with Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. The company remains in Vermont and
buys it's milk from Vermont dairy farmers who agree not to use any
growth hormones on their cows. Ben and Jerry's also continues to
contribute over a million dollars annually to the Ben & Jerry's
Foundation and the employee-led Community Action Teams. Ben and
Jerry's is also still opening more "PartnerShops" which are owned by
nonprofit organizations and provide job training and employment to
disadvantaged persons. Ben and Jerry still show up for some of the
events at Ben and Jerry's as well as helping out in some of the
scoop shops. Besides that Ben and Jerry also continue their world on
global issues.
For more information
about Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in Vermont, visit their factory for a
factory tour.
Ben &
Jerry's Factory Tours
Ben and
Jerry's factory tours are a great way to gain a new appreciation for
all the hard work that goes into their ice cream production process.
 The factory tours take place at the Ben & Jerry's Factory in
Waterbury, Vermont. The tour begins with a "Moovie" and usually a
cow joke from the tour guide. The movie shows the history and
progress of the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream as well as some interesting
facts about their company and products. After the movie you are
brought through their factory to view their production and packaging
areas. No pictures are allowed during this part of the tour. The
production area is demonstrated by a few TV screens and the tour
guide as well as lights on the equipment and machines that make the
ice cream that are lit up when the tour guide is speaking about each
part of the ice cream making process. This part of the tour you are
above the production floor, looking down at the operations taking
place.
TIP: If you want to see the employees making ice
cream, be sure to avoid going on a weekend as ice cream is not made
at this factory on weekends. You may also want to call Ben and
Jerry's Ice Cream factory to be sure they are making ice cream on
the day that you want to take their factory tour. Ben & Jerry's Ice
Cream can be reached at:
802-882-1240 or toll
free (866) BJ-TOURS). You can also check out the latest Ben &
Jerry's Ice Cream factory tour hours, schedule, fees and whether or
not they are making ice cream on certain days
here. They are pretty good about keeping their website current.
TIP:
Don't forget to bring pennies and quarters! Ben & Jerry's has a
penny squashing machine that imprints images onto the penny. Getting
pennies from the cashiers can take a long time as the lines in the
gift shop can be very long.
Directions to Ben and
Jerry's in Vermont:
Take Rt. 89 and get off
on exit 10 onto Rt. 100
Go North on Rt. 100
towards Stowe, Vermont
Ben & Jerry's is
approximately 1 mile on the left.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
Factory Address:
1281 Waterbury Stowe
Rd, Waterbury, VT.
Ben & Jerry's in
Waterbury Vermont (Map)
View Larger Map
Photos of Ben and Jerry Ice Cream Factory and Tours
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