The Annual Ice Cream Trail Celebrates Pennsylvania Dairy and PA Preferred® Operations
The Center for Dairy Excellence, PA Preferred®, and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office are seeking creameries to participate in the third year of the Pennsylvania Ice Cream Trail program. Pennsylvania dairy farms that have a value-added ice cream component to their business are encouraged to join the program. The PA Ice Cream Trail was designed to increase consumer awareness of locally produced dairy products and drive state-wide traffic to PA Preferred® creameries.
“Last year, the PA Ice Cream Trail tripled in growth. We had more than 5,400 participants from 30 states visit creameries across Pennsylvania,” said Laura England, Director of the Bureau of Market Development for the PA Department of Agriculture. “For our participating creameries, this level of growth helped boost sales and generate new exposure for their business. It also gave consumers a chance to visit new parts of the state and gave them a firsthand look at the care and quality that goes into Pennsylvania agriculture each and every day.”
The 2020 program will begin in June and conclude in September. Featuring exciting passports, stamps and incentives that are ideal for consumers of all ages, families are invited to visit participating creameries on the Ice Cream Trail throughout the summer.
“Our business was phenomenal due to the PA Ice Cream Trail,” said Timi Bauscher from the Nesting Box Market and Creamery in Berks County. “We had a huge response of new customers traveling from stop to stop, and it made our weekday sales almost equal to our weekend sales. We loved the atmosphere and the amount of people who came to visit, along with their Ice Cream Trail stories.”
Participating creameries must have a connection to Pennsylvania dairy and must be part of the PA Preferred® program. If selected for the 2020 program, creameries will receive a toolkit with passports, stamps, signage and resources to help with promoting the initiative at their storefront and on digital platforms.
“We received a tremendous amount of new exposure from people outside of our immediate area. We were really surprised at the number of people who came through from different areas,” said Ryan Miller of Betsy’s Ice Cream in Allegheny County. “We received a ton of positive feedback from them, which is always great to hear.”
To participate in the 2020 Ice Cream Trail or learn more about the program, contact Emily Barge by March 16. Email ebarge@centerfordairyexcellence.org or call 717-346-0849.