My Tour At Hudsonville Ice Cream {+ Coupon Giveaway On Facebook!}

I recently had the privilege of attending a wonderful blogger event in Grand Rapids put on by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan highlighting some of Michigan’s best local foods that include dairy. One of the places we were able to tour was Hudsonville Ice Cream, in Holland, Michigan.

Our group of awesome bloggers ready to tour! Photo by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

Let me just start off by saying touring Hudsonville has been on my bucket list for a few years, so I was pretty sad to hear awhile back that they don’t do public tours. So I was beyond thrilled to be able to visit with this group for the inside scoop! And how appropriate that I am pregnant and baby boy seems to LOVE ice cream 😉

My visit made me fall in love with the company and its ice cream even more. Not only do they make seriously delicious ice cream, but I love the small environment {less than 40 employees total} and the family values the company promotes, including a 5-day work week with just one shift, which is unusual in the food industry.

An important item to note: This is one of the cleanest factories I have ever visited. I was really impressed to hear about their extremely high standards for cleanliness, which includes taking apart all equipment at the end of the day for washing. Sure makes me relieved as a consumer 😉

TIP: Store ice cream on its lid for the best flavor. Additionally, deep freeze your favorite seasonal flavors to ensure the best quality months later.

The company was founded as a creamery in 1895 and began making ice cream in 1926, producing just six flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Butter Pecan, Orange Pineapple and Tootie Fruitie.

Today, they produce more than 40 ice cream flavors {30 are gluten-free}, with Vanilla still being the #1 seller. My personal favorites are the Grand Traverse Bay Cherry Fudge and Seaside Caramel, while the hubby loves Triple Peanut Butter Cup. We always nab them when they are on sale 2/$7 at Meijer so we can each have our own carton!

All ingredients used are as local as possible — and let me tell you, having high-quality, fresh ingredients can make a MAJOR difference in ice cream, ya’ll. {NO high fructose corn syrup — wahoo!} Also, 100% of the milk used is from Michigan cows.

In fact, this infographic is super awesome for highlighting LOTS of great things about our local milk.

I am always sure to look for the #26 on my milk to make sure it’s made in Michigan!

Learn more about Michigan Dairy on the Milk Means More website | Facebook | Twitter and Pinterest.

Stay tuned for more Michigan Dairy fun. Next, I will be sharing what I learned pairing Michigan beers and wines with local cheeses!

SIMPLE FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY!

I have a TWO coupons for FREE Hudsonville ice cream {up to a $5.99 value}. Drop by my Facebook page {www.facebook.com/mrswebersneighborhood} and leave a comment on my wall stating your favorite flavor or the one you’d most like to try, and I will use Random.org to choose two winners on Friday, May 9.

Find all the flavors Hudsonville offers here: http://hudsonvilleicecream.com/flavors/

P.S. This is not sponsored in any way by Hudsonville OR Michigan Dairy. I just loved my experiences and wanted to share about them!