Reaching the masses
Even with a new brand identity in tow, for Graeter, as with his parents and grandparents before him, the business remains about one thing — the ice cream.
"It is what it is because it’s special," Graeter says. "It’s made two or three gallons at a time."
The process, called the French Pot method, is the backbone of the company’s long-term success. But because of its manufacturing limitations, Graeter’s French Pot method for making ice cream is its greatest weakness as well as its greatest strength.
"You can’t make our ice cream on a modern machine," Graeter says. "We basically had to design our own machine that gave the same quality of the French Pot ice cream as machines made before 1908. It still only makes two gallons at a time."
And in a world where mass production rules and competitors can churn out hundreds, if not thousands, of gallons of ice cream quickly, having to manufacture your own machines one at a time for franchisees or company-owned stores presents another set of growth challenges.
"We’re not going to build a giant plant somewhere to ship our ice cream across the country. That defeats the purpose of Graeter’s ice cream," Graeter says. "The product doesn’t travel well. It’s not meant to sit on a shelf in a warehouse, to be shipped in trucks and then sit in a back room waiting to be stocked. National brand ice cream actually has a shelf life of a year. I can’t imagine and don’t want to eat ice cream that’s more than a few weeks old. Ours isn’t.
"At any one of our stores, at any Kroger’s store, you can get ice cream that’s days and maybe a couple weeks old, at most."
This helps explain why, despite numerous requests, Graeter and his parents have not expanded nationwide as quickly as other specialty ice cream shops.
"People ask why we’re not coast-to-coast," says Graeter. "That’s because we’re making about as much ice cream as we can make here. Our goal is to be the very best ice cream. The other ice cream companies are all about franchising. Their No. 1 goal is to sell another franchise."
So while Graeter gets calls almost daily from entrepreneurs who want to introduce the Graeter’s brand to markets beyond Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Northern Kentucky, Lexington and Louisville, he and his cousins have settled on a more controlled process for adding franchises.
In the meantime, Graeter is reaching the masses in a more high-tech and targeted way — through his company’s Web site at www.graeters.com.
Relaunched in late 2003, just before the purchase agreement that transferred ownership of the company to Richard, Bob and Chip, Graeter’s online store provided an immediate ability to compete nationwide, albeit in a somewhat limited manner.
Consumers can purchase the company’s ice cream in specially made six- or 12-pint reusable shipping coolers and have it shipped via next-day air across the continental United States. The company’s other products — candy and gift certificates — are also offered through its online operations.
"We use old-world technology to make the ice cream," says Graeter, "and new-world technology to deliver it."
