Magnum Ice Cream Company commissions US$34.6M ice cream production line

GERMANY – The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) has commissioned a new production line for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pints at its factory in Heppenheim, Germany, as part of an ongoing US$34.62 million (€30 million) expansion program.

The investment brings additional European manufacturing capacity closer to consumers and aims to support the next chapter of Ben & Jerry’s growth as an integral part of the TMICC portfolio.

The company said the new pint line reflects growing demand for the brand in Europe and will see the site working alongside other existing Ben & Jerry’s ice cream production hubs in Europe including Hellendoorn, Netherlands, and Gloucester, UK.

TMICC’s Heppenheim site serves as a key manufacturing and distribution hub for domestic and neighbouring European markets.

Alongside the new Ben & Jerry’s line, other local investments include logistics, cold warehousing and energy infrastructure upgrades.

Nikolaus Huber, general manager DACH at TMICC, said: “Our team in Heppenheim has been making ice cream for 66 years. This expertise, combined with the site’s central location in Europe, made Heppenheim the natural choice for expanding Ben & Jerry’s production for the European market.”

He added: “Producing premium pints with large chunks and swirls is technically demanding and building this capability at Heppenheim strengthens our ability to bring innovative products to consumers across Europe in the years ahead”.

Ben & Jerry’s has reported growth through ‘new flavours, formats and consumption occasions’ in Germany, with around 40% of sales in the country occurring through the winter months.

The ice cream brand, founded in the US in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, is known for its premium ice cream range with swirls and inclusions, and its social activism work.

It was acquired by Unilever in 2000 and is now under the portfolio of TMICC, Unilever’s demerged ice cream unit, which now operates as a standalone business.

The brand has been involved in an ongoing legal dispute with parent companies Unilever and TMICC in recent years, regarding its governance and the social mission commitments that were made as part of the $326 million acquisition in 2000.

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