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A Cinch by the Inch. Any idea who's the "third-largest branded ice-cream maker in the U.S.," behind Dreyer's and Bryer's? Why, it's Blue Bell Creameries, www.bluebell.com, of Brenham, Texas (pop. 13,500), reports Lynn Cook in Forbes (3/1/04). Thing is, Blue Bell, an 80-year-old, family-owned, privately-held enterprise, is "sold in only 14 southern states," but "still has higher revenues" than either Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. Its gross margins are "well into the double digits," too, "compared with 11 percent or so for other premium brands." Oh, and Blue Blue "has never paid slotting fees to the grocery and convenience stores that account for 70 percent of its business (the remainder is in restaurants in schools).
Such success plainly has a little something to do with the ice cream itself, which weighs "52 ounces per half-gallon (compared to 40 ounces for Breyers), and has a fat content of 13 percent (just below Haagen-Dazs' 18 percent)." Blue Bell also comes in 98 flavors, although it rotates many of them in six-month cycles. Perhaps the real key, though, is a stubborn adherence to roots. Blue Bell was founded in "1907 by dairy farmers who made butter; by 1911 it was cranking out 2 gallons of ice cream a day from a wooden tub. Eight years later ... E.F. Kruse ... started managing the business" and his two young sons, Howard and Ed, were hired to make ice cream sandwiches, by hand, for a dime an hour.
When E.F. died in 1951, Howard and Ed took charge of the company, and in 1960, the brothers decided to expand into Houston. What they didn't do was offer retailers discounts. No, they simply offered a taste of their ice cream and that was more than enough: "As word got around, stores began calling Blue Bell: The ones that didn't carry the brand were losing business to those that did ... Today, Blue Bell is found in some Wal-Marts, and across the South, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertson's, Walgreens and Eckerd are clamoring for the ice cream, too." How long before you might find Blue Bell in your grocer's freezer? Might be a while. "There's a saying around here," explains Melvin Ziegenbein, vp of sales and marketing. "It's a cinch by the inch." In the meantime, you can order a FedEx delivery of "four half-gallons packed in dry ice" for $85 by calling (979) 836-7977.
Camillia's Teas. "Of the $2 billion in U.S. sales of traditional (meaning hot) tea last year, specialty teas accounted for $500 million, up from less than $250 million a decade ago," as reported by Amy Cortese in BusinessWeek (3/1/04). Specialty teas? They're different from the regular kind in that they "emanate from the most flavorful leaves at the top of the plant," are "minimally processed and sold loose." No "tea dust" like that filling most tea bags, here. As such, specialty teas have a "complexity of character comparable to fine wine." How does this sound: "Rich, earthy taste with briny overtones ... Complex, fruity flavor with a hint of honey."
That's the kind of patter you might hear at Chez Panisse, www.chezpanissse.com, a Berkeley, Calif. restaurant that employs a "tea sommelier." As you've probably read, however, the taste sensation isn't the only reason for tea's growing popularity: "The flavonoids, tannins and vitamins in tea are believed to have potent antioxidant and antibacterial properties that can help combat everything from cancer and heart disease to the flu." One type of oolong tea, called pu-erh, www.pu-erhtea.com, "lowers triglycerides and reduces hunger -- hence its nickname, the 'diet tea'."
If the flavor or the health benefits don't grab you, maybe the history will: "Legend has it that the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea around 2737 B.C., when a leaf from a wild Camellia sinensis tree blew into his cup of boiling water." Can't believe he drank it! Anyway, that's the legend. The fact is that all of today's teas (that is, the non-herbal varieties) come from the Camellia, which "has spawned more than 1,200 varieties" of tea, "which fall roughly into four major categories: black, green white and oolong." If you plan to get into tea, be prepared to spend for it: "These teas can set you back $4 to $11 an ounce (an ounce makes about 20 servings). A box of 100 Lipton tea bags costs around $3."
Tim Manners, editor
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