Kleinpeter Ice Cream
Gone. Kleinpeter Farms Dairy halted ice cream production in December 2014 and said on February 20, 2015 that it would not resume, turning the ice cream plant into milk storage. Only the ice cream ended; the dairy, founded in 1913, carried on with milk.
Last verified Nov 2, 2026
A Baton Rouge dairy's homegrown ice cream, billed as the only ice cream made in Louisiana, with a Louisiana ingredient in every flavor. It went from two flavors to two dozen in under three years, then melted away in 2015.
Filed under: Frozen & Dairy · the ’00s & later
📅 Timeline
- 2008The first half-gallons of Kleinpeter vanilla and chocolate reached stores in January, made at a new plant in Baton Rouge.
- 2010The line had grown from two flavors to 24, including Sweet Potato Pie and Bread Pudding, and the plant could fill 12,000 half-gallons a day.
- 2011Kleinpeter was selling 26 flavors at grocers including Albertsons, Winn-Dixie, Walmart and Whole Foods.
- 2014In December the dairy halted ice cream production, saying it had not found a manager for the plant who met its standards.
- 2015On February 20, Kleinpeter announced it would not resume making ice cream, then about 3 percent of its sales, and would use the plant to store milk.
❓ People also ask
Why did Kleinpeter stop making ice cream?
In December 2014 the company said it could not find a plant manager who met its standards. When it made the end permanent in February 2015, its general manager said the dairy would concentrate on its core milk products. Ice cream was then only about 3 percent of sales.
What happened to the Kleinpeter ice cream plant?
It became a milk refrigeration plant. The four ice cream trucks were turned into milk delivery trucks, and the plant's 10 workers moved to the milk side.
How many flavors did Kleinpeter make?
About 25 by the end, carried in some 200 stores, each built around at least one Louisiana product such as Community Coffee, Bergeron pecans or Louisiana honey.
🧾 Sources
- Baton Rouge Business Report, Kleinpeter killing its ice cream business (2015)
- Biz New Orleans (Associated Press), Kleinpeter Farms Dairy Ends Ice Cream Production (2015)
- Food Engineering / Dairy Foods, Plant Profile: Filling Local Demand (2011)
- Baton Rouge Business Report, Kleinpeter suspends ice cream production, considers outsourcing going forward (2014)
- Perishable News (The Advocate), In Three Years, Ice Cream A Boon To Kleinpeter Farms Dairy (2011)