A passion for ice cream five generations strong
The history of Gifford’s Ice Cream goes back to an earlier century when our dad, Randall Gifford, first learned the art of ice cream making from his father-in-law Chester Main. Both Randall and his wife Audrey, our mom, grew up in the dairy business in Connecticut, steeped in a tradition of super-rich, old-fashioned ice cream––the kind you could only get at the ice cream stand. Naturally, when our parents moved to Maine, to begin operating a small dairy in Skowhegan, they brought their passion for “ice cream stand ice cream” right along with them.

Getting started
In 1980, we began creating small batches of super-rich ice cream, using original family recipes handed down through the generations. At first, ice cream was just a sideline to the family milk-processing business. However, demand grew steadily and soon it became clear that Gifford’s Ice Cream was something special. Made from fresh cream and top-quality ingredients, it had that old-fashioned, super-rich “ice cream stand” flavor––just like it has today.

In 1983, we made a full-time commitment to ice cream. With a core of six determined employees, it was "all hands on deck” for the extended Gifford’s family. We started gradually in small towns in rural Maine; soon, the Gifford’s name was known throughout the state and beyond. Everyone pitched in then and they still do today.

“Ice cream stand good!”
We opened our first, family-operated Gifford’s ice cream stand in our hometown of Skowhegan, Maine, in 1980. Today, we operate five ice cream stands throughout the great state of Maine that serve over one million cones each summer! Our ice cream is also available at more than 400 independent ice cream stands in Maine, and throughout New England and is even served as far south as Cape May, New Jersey!

Through the years we’ve grown and modernized, and in 1983 we began selling Gifford's Ice Cream in retail supermarkets. However we have never lost sight of our passion for ice cream, or our family heritage. Maybe that is why we still produce ice cream that would make Granddad Chester proud. Gifford’s Ice Cream is “ice cream stand good!”