Turkey Hill Dairy, or simply known as Turkey Hill, is an American brand of

iced tea Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though it is usually served in a glass with ice, it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink that can be ...

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

and other beverages and

frozen dessert Frozen dessert is a dessert made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes even solids. They may be based on flavored water ( shave ice, ice pops, sorbet, snow cones), on fruit purées (such as sorbet), on milk and cream (most ice creams ...

s distributed throughout the United States and internationally. The company, which is headquartered in Conestoga, Pennsylvania, was a subsidiary of

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...

from 1985 until it was sold to private equity firm Peak Rock Capital in 2019. The company is operated independently from

Turkey Hill Minit Markets Turkey Hill Minit Markets is an American chain of convenience stores founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1967. As of October 2017, Turkey Hill Minit Markets had over 260 locations across Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Turkey Hill Minit Mark ...

, a chain of more than 260 gas station convenience stores that carry Turkey Hill products in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. In 2011, Turkey Hill opened The Turkey Hill Experience, a attraction based in

Columbia, Pennsylvania Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, ac ...

About the Turkey Hill Experience
that pays homage to Turkey Hill’s history while highlighting its ice cream and iced tea-making processes."The Turkey Hill Experience tells company's story with interactive exhibits" PennLive.com

Turkey Hill Dairy

History

Turkey Hill Dairy began in 1931 during the Great Depression, when farmer Armor Frey began selling bottled milk to neighbors from his sedan.Dairy history
Frey's family obtained the farm directly from Thomas and Richard Penn, sons of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, and the sheepskin deed to the farm refers to "turkeyhill". Turkey Hill Ridge had been given its name by the Conestoga Indians for the wild turkeys found there, so the family decided to name their dairy after the name on the deed and the nearby geographical feature.About the Dairy
Armor sold the dairy to sons Glen, Emerson and Charles Frey in 1947. Milking the cows and delivering milk to customers provided these three families with a satisfactory income. In 1954, the dairy began making ice cream, which sold well in Lancaster County, and in 1981, they started selling the ice cream through a few independent stores in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Turkey Hill quickly began to expand into

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and up the East Coast. In the early 2000s (decade) Turkey Hill's products were distributed in places further west, such as Buffalo,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. Over the next few years, Turkey Hill rapidly expanded its distribution area, and its teas are now sold in 45 states and the ice cream is now sold in 43 states.

Ownership and Leadership

The dairy and the stores were sold in 1985 to

Dillons Dillons is a grocery supermarket chain based in Hutchinson, Kansas, and is a division of Kroger. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in Missouri and Baker's in Omaha, Nebraska. Dillons operates grocery stores throughout K ...

, a subsidiary of

. Despite the new ownership, the Frey family was heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, as Charles Frey, the youngest of company founder Armor Frey’s sons, remained as president. Charles was succeeded as president by Quintin Frey (son of Emerson Frey) in 1991. On May 28, 2013, The Kroger Company announced Quintin Frey’s retirement.

Wind Turbines

In 2011, Turkey Hill partnered with PPL Renewable Energy and the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority to purchase the electricity generated by two

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...

s on the Frey Farm landfill adjacent to the company’s manufacturing facility. The wind turbines are capable of producing enough power to supply 25 percent of the company’s annual electricity demand.

Products

In 2012, Turkey Hill Dairy produced of ice cream, of iced tea and other drinks and of milk. Since 2000, Turkey Hill has been among the nation's top-selling brands of refrigerated iced tea and, in 2011, was the fourth-largest producer of ice cream, after

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...

( Dreyer's/Edy Grand,

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, Ne ...

, Mövenpick),

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

(

Breyers Ice Cream Breyers is a brand of ice cream started in 1866 by William A. Breyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History In 1866, William A. Breyer began to produce and sell iced cream in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, first from his home, and later via hor ...

and

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream ...

), and Wells' Dairy ( Blue Bunny).

Ice Cream

Turkey Hill produces 72 full-time and Limited Edition flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurt and sherbet available in , sizes and sizes for use by ice cream shops.Frozen Desserts Turkeyhill.com Specific product lines include Premium Ice Cream, All Natural Ice Cream, Stuff’d, Light Recipe, and No Sugar Added, in addition to frozen yogurt and sherbet.

Iced Tea

The Turkey Hill Iced Tea lineup includes more than 20 seasonal and full-time flavors.Cold Drinks Turkeyhill.com
Traditional flavors are made with a manufacturing process that includes cold bottling, cold shipping and cold storage in stores.

Other Beverages

Other Turkey Hill beverages include fruit drinks (lemonade and fruit punch, among others), milk (fat free, 1% lowfat, 2% reduced fat, whole milk, and 1% low fat chocolate milk), drinking water, and egg nog distributed during the Christmas and Easter seasons.

Partnerships and Sponsorships

Turkey Hill Dairy has partnerships with the Snyder's of Hanover,

Gertrude Hawk Chocolates Gertrude Hawk Chocolates is a chocolate company based in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. The company was started by Gertrude Jones Hawk in 1936. Hawk began her career at the age of 12 after the death of her father. She took a job in a candy shop and la ...

, and

Tootsie Roll Industries Tootsie Roll Industries is an American manufacturer of confectionery based in Chicago, Illinois. Its best-known products include the namesake Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops. Tootsie Roll Industries currently markets its brands internationally in ...

Junior Mints Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

allowing them to produce and distribute theme-flavored ice cream based on the products of these companies. Turkey Hill also maintains partnerships with several professional sports teams, including the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

, Camden Riversharks, and the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

, all of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Other sports partnerships include Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, and the National Football League’s

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

and Pittsburgh Steelers. The company’s relationships with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers include the manufacture of official team ice cream flavors.

Turkey Hill Experience

The Turkey Hill Experience is a attraction based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania that pays homage to Turkey Hill Dairy’s history while highlighting its ice cream and iced tea-making processes. It opened in June 2011 and is located in

, six miles from the company’s main production facility in Conestoga, Pennsylvania.

Displays and exhibits

The Turkey Hill Experience includes a variety of interactive displays aimed at entertaining both children and adults. In addition to learning about Turkey Hill Dairy’s history and the iced tea and ice cream manufacturing processes, visitors can also make their own virtual ice cream flavor, an interactive process that uses green-screen technology to allow visitors to star in a Turkey Hill TV commercial. An exhibit called the Turkey Hill Taste Lab, opened in June 2013.

History

The Turkey Hill Experience is located in a former Ashley and Bailey silk mill, part of which was originally built in 1899. The location had several owners and uses in the decades that followed. It was abandoned in the late 1970s after the Tidy Products company stopped using it as a sewing factory. The building was vacant for more than 25 years before Turkey Hill began to work with a developer to renovate it for new uses.The Turkey Hill Experience Site Preservation - TurkeyHill.com Two similar industrial mill buildings, the Ashley and Bailey Company Silk Mill in West York and the Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill in Marietta, have been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

References

External links

Turkey Hill Dairy's official site

Ice Cream Journal: Turkey Hill Dairy's official blog

Turkey Hill Experience's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkey Hill Kroger Companies based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Iced tea brands Drink companies of the United States 1931 establishments in Pennsylvania Ice cream brands American companies established in 1931 Food and drink companies established in 1931 Food and drink companies based in Pennsylvania 1985 mergers and acquisitions 2019 mergers and acquisitions

Turkey Hill Dairy

History

Ownership and Leadership

Wind Turbines

Products

Ice Cream

Iced Tea

Other Beverages

Partnerships and Sponsorships

Turkey Hill Experience

Displays and exhibits

History

See also

References

External links