SKOWHEGAN, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — The Gifford Family has been making ice cream in Maine since 1971, and two generations of the family made it in other places before that.
Randall and Audrey Gifford brought the business to Farmington and then to Skowhegan. Their sons Roger and John then bought the ice cream business from their parents and started to grow the company.
The fifth generation is now running the company, which includes John's daughter, General Manager Lindsay Skilling; John’s son, Vice President of Sales John Chester Gifford Jr.; John's daughter, Marketing Manager Samantha Gifford; and Plant Supervisor Ryan Porter, who is the son of Donna Gifford, John and Roger’s sister.
This team continues to grow the Gifford’s brand with products in stores as far south as North Carolina — soon Florida — and as far west as Nevada.
They operate five retail stores in Maine, which serve a million customers a year. They are producing almost two million gallons of ice cream a year.
The company prides itself on using quality ingredients and manufacturing their product in a small Maine town.