Although Ben & Jerry’s ice cream often supports progressive causes and promotes divestment from Israel, Blue Bell is promoting the work of the church. In his new book, “One Scoop at a Time,” former CEO Ricky Dickson wants people to know that he loves ice cream but that he loves God more.
“When discerning God’s direction in my life on when to step away from Blue Bell, thoughts came into my mind on what a fun story it would be to tell how God used me through the journey,” he said.
For Dickson, that journey started with attending Baylor University, where he followed his high school sweetheart, thinking she would be his wife, which didn’t happen. Still, his time at Baylor would lead him to be a part of the Blue Bell company from 1981 to 2024. For 43 years, Dickson would call his time at Blue Bell all about people over profit and even ice cream.
READ: How ice cream cones have a Missouri connection
“I look past the ice cream, and I gravitate to the people, the people that I worked with collectively and the investment of their lives into the product was not the result — making a product that would also have, in turn, a beautiful effect on people’s lives,” he said. ”I don’t mean to cut anybody down, but usually, people don’t fall in love with green beans or toothpaste, but for some reason, people fall in love with ice cream. The mantra I’ve used is our job is to meet the expectation that drives the passion consistently, the commitment must come from the top.”
Before Dickson became CEO, Blue Bell was taken off the shelves because of a listeria issue that would result in criminal charges being brought against the company’s former leaders. However, Dickson knew he had a mission that needed to be accomplished to get the ice cream back on the shelves. Dickson remembers returning to the company’s core beliefs and foundation. He also knew that to get customers to trust them again; the company had to live up to the brand that customers were loyal to.
“Profits are great, but the loyalty of those waiting to get Blue Bell back into the market and to get Blue Bell back into their homes and freezers was the focal point and the right thing to do,” he said. “There were three things that I focused on: go humble, keep your head down and pray hard. I mean, that’s all that you can do, and if we run out of money, then we run out, but at least we did those things.”
Dickson knew that the journey back would be difficult for the company, but he also knew that God was calling him to the task.
“I tried to embrace the long journey and not the short one,” he said. “I wanted to look back 50 years from now, if God willing and I’m still here, and remember that we took one step at a time and to not just try to be big for the sake of being big. Let’s do the right things for the right reasons, and the two will work together, especially if God ordains it. If you put your best foot forward and do the right things, then God will bless that.”
In addition to its “good works,” Blue Bell is also just good ice cream.
Blue Bell Ice Cream has dropped a new limited-edition flavor that combines two iconic desserts.
In July the ice cream company released and immediate fan favorite: Cookies ‘n Cream Cheesecake Ice Cream. The new flavor consists of a cheesecake ice cream blended with chocolate cookie-crusted cheesecake pieces and, that’s not all, chocolate crème-filled cookies
The new flavor was created to celebrate the two days in July recognizing both ice cream and cheesecake, reports USA TODAY.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice