How It All Began
It all began nearly 40 years ago when Mike was on a trip that had nothing to do with ice cream...
"Back in 1980, I was in Seattle, Washington on the pier," Mike recounts. "There were people at this ice cream shop lined up around the block waiting for a hand-made waffle cone. Intrigued, I waited in line and I got one. The warm cone, the ice cream slowly melting, the smell, the cherry on top – incredible! When I came back to Edmonton, I couldn’t get that cone out of my mind."
Eager to recreate the taste sensation and customer satisfaction he witnessed in Washington, Mike sourced two waffle irons and started selling cones at trade shows and fairs.
"Lineups were incredible!" he laughs. "I called it the Monster Cone. I started selling large volumes of Palm Dairies ice cream – so much that they asked me to distribute for them, too. After Palm Dairies got bought out, I was the first to distribute Häagen-Dazs in Western Canada. After they got bought out, I became part of the Ben and Jerry’s network when it came to Canada."
Then he met the Chapmans.
Mike smiles, "Twenty years ago, Dave and Penny Chapman asked me to be a master distributor for their brand. I was the first to bring Chapman’s from Ontario to Western Canada."
Chapman’s is family-friendly, carrying a wide range of options for adults (such as their creamy premium caramel praline in a tub) and children (wrapped cones in fun flavours and in sizes suitable for little hands). As the demand for ice cream continues to evolve, Mike sees that people want more natural products. He’s happy to note that Chapman’s has not changed their formula to meet this demand—they didn’t have to because they were already well ahead of the curve.
"Chapman’s has always been true to the form and always makes everything with 100 per cent natural cream, supporting the dairy farmers of Canada. Chapman’s hasn’t changed because they don’t need to."
While our flagship brand is Chapman’s, we carry 480 different types and sizes of ice cream, and represent 11 brands. Most recently we've been developing our own brand called Mike’s Ice Cream. It’s ice cream in kid’s-sized tubs, and it will come in delightful flavours, such as Mike’s Marvelous Malt, Cookies n’ Cream dream and Mike’s Bubble Gum Burst.
2017 Business Leaders Award
In June 2017, Mike won a Leaders 2017 Award through
Business in Edmonton.
This award is given to owners, presidents, and CEOs of small and medium-sized businesses for their innovation, business success, industry involvement, commitment to community, and philanthropy.
About
The Ice Cream Depot
The Ice Cream Depot is a Master Distributor of Chapman's Ice Cream for Alberta, as well as Blue Bunny, Mike's Cups, and many unique brands for all of Western Canada.
Our headquarters is in Edmonton, with a robust 30,000 sq ft Freezer and 50,150 square foot warehouse allowing us to service Alberta, Yukon, and Northwest Territories with Chapman's ice cream, and the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia with many other brands.
We also have depots in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton
Proud Member of the International Association of
Ice Cream
Distributors & Vendors
Spanning the globe, the IAICDV serves as a leading organization on best practices, industry solutions, mobile vending regulations, industry networking and expertise on ice cream and frozen desserts.
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