What Sets Publix's Ice Cream Products Apart Has Nothing To Do With Taste

Starting out as a grocer in Florida in 1930, Publix has expanded into one of the largest-volume grocery chains in the United States. Its home state still has the most locations, but the company has opened stores as far north as Virginia and as far west as Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. One of the things you might not have known about Publix, though, is that not all of its private label products are outsourced to third parties. In fact, one thing that sets its ice cream apart from other store brands is that it's produced in the company's own facilities.

It's very common for grocery retailers to turn to third-party manufacturers to make products that are then packaged with the stores' own labels. Even Publix contracts private-label suppliers to produce many items according to its specifications, but it also makes a lot of dairy, bakery, deli, snack, and other items itself. Specifically, the Publix, Publix Premium, and GreenWise (organic brand) ice creams are formulated or produced at its dairy facilities in Lakeland, Florida and Dacula, Georgia. The Publix Lakeland Dairy Plant has actually been established since 1980 as part of then-president Joe Blanton's vision. Just the fact that Publix has been making its own ice cream for more than four decades could explain why it's consistently among the most popular items. To top that off, this facility makes about 20 million cartons every year.

All of Publix's ice cream products are made with real cream and milk, and the high amount of milkfat is what gives it an indulgent mouthfeel and richness. However, another reason the ice cream so often comes up when discussing the top grocery store private label brands is because of the wide variety of flavors available. Along with classics like chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, Publix has a slew of everyday options — from cookies and cream to moose tracks to lactose-free options like pineapple banana and chocolate peanut butter pretzel that are unique to the chain.

On top of that, the team at the Publix Lakeland Dairy Plant is responsible for formulating new and limited-edition flavors, some of which take 12 months to develop. The team gets ideas for new flavors from trends research, suppliers, and customer feedback in stores and online. Once they come up with creative recipes, the new flavors go through sampling. The facility holds an annual tasting event where the employees get to test upwards of 100 flavors. Not all of the flavors make it to store shelves, but many of them do and aren't available anywhere else in the country.

For instance, Publix has released guava and cheese pastry frozen yogurt, sweet tea and lemonade float, and hummingbird cake for summer 2026. Some flavors also return seasonally — like bourbon eggnog, pumpkin pie, and peppermint stick. So every time you shop at Publix, you could see more than 40 flavors in the freezer.