The Brand Behind Publix Ice Cream Isn't What You'd Expect

Though certain grocery stores like Trader Joe's host a wide selection of store-branded products, Publix presents consumers with a variety of brands to choose from. Some grocery conglomerates will outsource major selections of product like Aldi's Moser-Roth chocolate bars, which are actually made by a separate company. In Publix's case, the origins of its ice cream can actually be traced right back to the direct means of production. This is because the company happens to run its own ice cream operation from start to finish.

Publix operates various manufacturing plants across grocery departments, three of which are dedicated to dairy. When it comes to ice cream, this range of product is processed across select plants that the company independently owns and operates. Two are based in Florida, while the other is in Georgia. In 2017, Publix announced that it would be expanding one of its dairy plants by another 40,000 square feet to keep up with demand. Publix isn't the only grocery seller to do this, either; Walmart, after years of outsourcing its dairy production, switched to its own plants in 2018.

Taking direct ownership over this process allows the corporation to maintain closer management over the product's quality and ingredients, ensuring better prices and happier customers. With the first dairy plant having been established in the 1980s, the company's efforts have dramatically grown since its inception; in fact, Publix reported that it bottled over 100 million gallons of milk in 2024. With a team of seasoned professionals at the helm of Publix's ice cream production, there's no wonder its flavors have dramatically expanded over the years.

Unlike many of Publix's various store-branded products, which may be produced elsewhere, the company maintains full authority over the dairy department. Production runs through many different hands, but there is one beloved employee who used to sit at the height of dairy product development. For over three decades, Laura Johnson developed many of the ice cream flavors that fill the Publix freezers. Her process was collaborative, and she was admired for her vision for the company's dairy department.

After over 34 years in the dairy side of Publix operations, Johnson announced that she would be leaving the company in 2015. Known as the "Ice Cream Lady," she spent a large proportion of her career developing various dairy products which were processed at the plants. Johnson was the original designer of various crowd favorites, which are part of the over 100 flavors she helped develop. Some of her most noteworthy are Banana Split, Santa's White Christmas Red Velvet, and Key Lime Pie.

Since Johnson's departure, the company has managed to put forth a variety of new flavors and options, with the latest limited edition of eight different flavors to hit shelves in 2025. Offering continuous seasonal and special edition flavors, the company is dedicated to developing high-quality products for your family to enjoy and work on flavors for at least a year before shipping them out to stores.