Meet Wells Dairy: 30 Years of Making Great Value Ice Cream

Happy cows make the best milk, and fresh milk makes the best ice cream.

That’s the philosophy behind every scoop made by Wells Dairy in Le Mars, Iowa – where Great Value ice cream has been made for 30 years.

To make amazing ice cream, we focus on quality ingredients. Every day, Dykstra Farm’s fresh milk takes a 20-minute truck ride to the Wells Dairy plant, where it’s turned into fresh cream that same day. The cones and cookies are made right across the street at BoDean’s Baking Group, so we can use the freshest ingredients in every batch. Almost everything that goes into our ice cream is produced right there in Le Mars, the Ice Cream Capital of the World.

When my team sets out to develop a new flavor or a new way to share this favorite treat, we don’t want to simply repeat something we’ve already seen on the shelf. We look for inspiration everywhere – from trend-forward scoop-shops to flavors from across the globe – to find fun, innovative ways to surprise and delight our customers.

Flavor testing is a big part of our process to keep things fresh and fun (and a big part of what makes the job so great). One of the flavors we’re particularly excited about this year is Great Value’s new Pucker Punch Raspberry Sherbet with a Sour Raspberry Ribbon. It was one of our top scoring flavors, and kids especially love it.

Last year, my ice cream team tested over 200 samples to make sure the products we are putting in stores are top-notch. We do a lot of this at our Culinary and Innovation Center – Walmart’s test kitchen staffed with food scientists that ensure the quality of our private brand products.

Whether it’s a crazy new flavor or a cone with fun mix-ins, we’re proud of every scoop of Great Value ice cream we put on our shelves.