US ice cream maker Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream has begun work on a US$100m expansion project that will triple the capacity of its Bakersfield manufacturing facility, and create 250 new jobs next spring.
Dreyer’s Bakersfield plant currently makes 90 different types of frozen snacks, including Drumstick, Nestlé Crunch Bars, Push-Ups, Toll House Cookie Sandwiches, and Carnation Ice Cream Sandwiches. The expansion will add 400,000 square feet and five ice cream production lines, enabling the manufacture of packaged ice cream products like Dreyer’s Grand ice cream and the new Slow Churned Dreyer’s Grand Light.
In addition to packaged ice cream production and office space, the expansion will include a new ice cream warehouse, and new research and development facilities including a pilot plant for flavour development.
Dreyer’s was created through the 2003 merger of the original Dreyer’s and the US ice cream unit of Swiss food giant Nestlé.
