In 1973, David and Penny Chapman moved into the rooms above the old creamery in Markdale, Ontario and began their family – and their business. Chapman’s Ice Cream started out with four employees and two old trucks!
Chapman’s is now Canada’s largest independent ice cream company. The business is still firmly rooted in its home community of Markdale, and is deeply loyal to its employees. Chapman’s is grateful and proud to be able to give back to our country and our community in every way we can.
In 2001, Chapman’s opened a distribution centre in New Brunswick to better serve customers in Atlantic Canada. The Ontario distribution centre has grown to cover around 150,000 square feet and can house more than 6 million units of product. That’s a lot of ice cream!
Today, a fleet of 50 trucks delivers Chapman’s right across Canada.
Ice cream for all
When Penny Chapman got a call from a 10-year-old boy with a peanut allergy who had never been able to have ice cream at his birthday party, she knew she had to act. Penny and the Chapman’s team got to work converting Chapman’s original 2L ice cream into a peanut and nut free product everyone could enjoy.
Since then, the demand for ice cream that meets special dietary needs has continued to grow. And Chapman’s has responded with products that are Lactose Free, Gluten Free, and No Sugar Added.
Chapman’s is proud to be recognized by Anaphylaxis Canada for its peanut and nut free red flag labelling, and is the recipient of the Susan Daglish Award for leadership and commitment to anaphylaxis safety.
Growing with care
Chapmans is committed to responsible and sustainable manufacturing practices. We built one of the most efficient ice cream factories in the world. We are continuously involved in energy conservation initiatives.
In order to reduce water consumption, Chapman’s built its own wastewater treatment plant to purify the 800,000 litres of water used daily in the cleaning and production process.
Our new, paper-based packaging is SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified. And our beech wood sticks used for all Chapman’s ice cream novelties come from sustainable forest sources.
Rising from the ashes
On September 4, 2009 the Chapman family watched 36 years of hard work go up in smoke when a welder’s spark ignited a fire during the expansion of a state-of-the-art freezing tunnel.
Concerned about the local economy and their 350 employees who make up the extended Chapman family, David and Penny quickly made the decision to rebuild.
While the production facility was a complete loss, Chapman’s dry warehouse and a 150,000 square foot low-temperature distribution centre survived the blaze – and it was full of ice cream!
Using a temporary production facility, Chapman’s produced its first 2 L brick of ice cream just 7 weeks after the blaze.
Work began on a new manufacturing facility, appropriately named Phoenix. Within 18 months, Chapman’s had rebuilt bigger and better than ever. With more than 160,000 square feet of production space, Phoenix is almost twice the size of the old factory.
The story continues
Today, Chapman’s ice cream and frozen treats are enjoyed by families from coast to coast. As an industry leader, Canadians know the Chapman’s logo stands for quality, safety, and value.
Chapman’s Ice Cream is still a family-run company, with David, Penny and their son Ashley involved in every aspect of the business. As the largest independent ice cream manufacturer in Canada, Chapman’s is proud to produce more than 280 frozen treats in exciting flavour combinations that Canadians love.
