Things keep getting sweeter for Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream.
Skowhegan-based Gifford’s was named Maine Retailer of the Year for 2014, just weeks after the fifth-generation family creamery took top honors at the World Dairy Expo Championship.
The Retailer of the Year award, granted by the Retail Association of Maine, was presented at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Thursday.
“Their commitment to using Maine ingredients wherever possible and branding their product line with Maine themes helps extend the Maine brand beyond our state border,” Curtis Picard, executive director of the association, said.
Founded on a shoestring budget, Gifford’s has expanded across the country in the last year, pushing into Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. With fresh packaging, young leadership and bold flavors, the company’s reputation as a vibrant Maine brand is getting recognized.
“Being Maine Retailer of the Year is an enormous honor,” Lindsay Gifford-Skilling, general manager of Gifford’s Ice Cream, said in a prepared statement. “My entire family is so grateful to be recognized. This award represents many years of hard work and many generations of Gifford’s family members and employees who have dedicated their lives to making the best ice cream imaginable.”
Seven Giffords work for the growing company, take ice cream breaks together and seem to revel in their mission: hard work and quality ice cream equals success.
The association grants the award to a Maine business that shows continued growth in employees or sales, commitment to community and creation of a positive work environment for all employees. In 2014, Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream surpassed the criteria on all counts, the association said.
