Cows Creamery
| Private | |
| Industry | Ice cream |
| Founded | Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 1983 |
| Headquarters | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
Number of locations | 10 |
Area served | Canada (various markets) |
Key people | Scott Linkletter |
| Products | Ice cream, Cheese, Merchandise |
| Owner | Scott Linkletter |
| Parent | Sea Cross Inc. |
| Website | cows.ca |
Cows is an ice cream manufacturer and chain of ice cream parlors based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Cows was founded in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island in 1983, and has since expanded into cheddar cheese, and cow-themed merchandise. Cows was named "Canada's best ice cream" in a survey of readers of Reader's Digest and named the world's top place to get ice cream by Tauck World Discovery.
History
The first Cows opened in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island in 1983.[1] In 2006, Cows began producing cheese, including their principle product, Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar.[1] Cows was voted as "Canada's best ice cream" in a Reader's Digest opinion poll,[2] and in 2008 was listed as number 1 in the "World's Top Ten Places for Ice Cream" by Tauck World Discovery. Of Cows ten stores (located in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, six of them are in Prince Edward Island, where all of the ice cream is produced.[3]
The original "Cows T-shirt" design was created by a PEI graphic artist Marc Gallant in 1987. He went on creating several "whimsical cow themed designs" for 7 years until his death in 1994. Shortly after, Cows President Scott Linkletter hired Graphic Designer Shawn Mader to continue the line. From 1994 to present day, Shawn has created over 150 unique Cow designs, adorning everything from the Cows classic 100% cotton t-shirt to calendars, mugs, pens, etc.
In 2007 Cows announced that they would be building a new 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) corporate office in Charlottetown, paid for by a loan from the government of Prince Edward Island. The new Cows facility would be modeled after the Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's headquarters, and would serve as both a centralized production facility for all Cows ice cream and shirts. The new headquarters will also act as a tourist attraction where visitors can watch the ice cream and clothing being produced.[4] In 2008 the plan for the facility had grown to 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2) integrating a production area for cheese.[5]
Products
Ice cream
Cows produce over 32 varieties of "super premium" ice cream, including "Freckle Frenzy", a take off of Anne of Green Gables (which many Cavendish businesses use for marketing).[6] Other varieties include "Gooey Mooey", "Wowie Cowie" and "Moo Crunch".[3]
Cheese
In 2006 Cows expanded their brand to cheddar cheese. The expansion came after Cows owner Scott Linkletter took a trip to the Orkney Islands in Northern Scotland. Linkletter was taken by the local cheese and partnered with a local cheese maker who would give him the recipe which would in turn be the foundation for Cows "signature cheese", Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar. While developing the recipe for Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Linletter and Prince Edward Island cheese maker Armand Bernard created a second cheese, PEI Cheddar.[1]
Cows makes Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar in 10 kilograms (22 lb) wheels, and ages it for 12 months. Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar gets the "clothbound" name from the "traditional cheddar-making technique", of wrapping it in cheese cloth, a method that originated in Somerset, England (the town of Cheddar, where Cheddar cheese gets its name from is in the county of Somerset). The name Avonlea comes from link between Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gables. Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar won its category's second prize at the 2008 Chicago conference of the American Cheese Society.[7]
In March 2014 Cows placed first in two categories at the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin. Its Appletree Smoked Cheddar scored 99.30 in Class 59, Open Class: Smoked Hard Cheeses and its Extra Old Cheddar scored 98.50 in Class 4, Cheddar, Aged One to Two Years. Cows' Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar placed sixth in Class 7, Bandaged Cheddar, Sharp to Aged. http://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results?event=57&submit=Submit+Search
Merchandise
Cows markets their product on "cow-themed merchandise", which are parodies of movies, such as "Dairy Potter/Cowy Potter and the Udder of the Phoenix" (Harry Potter) and television series' such as "Trailer Park Cows" (Trailer Park Boys)[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Riedl, Sue (23 April 2008). "A flavour made for al fresco dining". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- 1 2 Moon, Brad (3 August 2009). "GeekDad Visits Prince Edward Island". Wired. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- 1 2 "Cows Ice Cream named best in world". Journal Pioneer. 8 July 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ Thibodeau, Wayne (14 February 2007). "Province loans Cow’s $8.1 million to build new headquarters". The Guardian (PEI). Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ Thibodeau, Wayne (24 July 2008). "COWS announces big venture". The Guardian (PEI). Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ Clark, Jayne (5 August 2008). "'Anne of Green Gables' still rules Prince Edward Island". USA Today. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ Riedl, Sue (3 September 2008). "Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 February 2010.