Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | |
Founded | 1968Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | in
Founder | William Henry "Bill" Braum |
Headquarters | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Number of locations | 300+ |
Area served |
|
Key people | |
Products | Ice cream, soft serve, frozen yogurt, milkshakes, sundaes, hamburgers, chicken, french fries, soft drinks, salads |
Services | Fast food restaurants Ice cream parlor Dairy store |
Revenue | US$5 billion (2021) |
Owner | Braum family |
Number of employees | 8,000 as of December 2021 [update] |
Website | braums.com |
Braum's Inc. is an American chain of ice cream parlor and fast food restaurants. Based in Oklahoma City, Braum's was founded in 1968 by William Henry "Bill" Braum in Oklahoma City. The company operates over 300 restaurants in 5 states, primarily in the Southern United States, namely the West South Central states of Oklahoma and Texas.
In 1957, William Henry "Bill" Braum [1] (1928–2020) [2] purchased his family's ice cream processing business based in Emporia, Kansas, as well as its "Peter Pan" retail ice cream chain; ten years later, the Peter Pan stores were sold, under the condition that the Braum family would not sell ice cream in Kansas for ten years. [3]
Having kept the family dairy herd and ice cream processing business, Braum and his wife Mary started the Braum's chain in 1968 in Oklahoma City, opening 24 stores in Oklahoma during the first year. Braum's brought products from its Emporia headquarters to Oklahoma for the first few years, later opening facilities in Oklahoma and moving the herd there in 1975. [3]
Braum's ran a series of Ernest P. Worrell television commercials in the 1980s.
In order to maintain the freshness of its products, the company does not open stores outside of a 330-mile (483 km) radius of the home farm in Tuttle, Oklahoma. [4] As of 2024, there are over 300 stores in operation, with 128 stores in Oklahoma, 99 in Texas, 27 in Kansas and 13 in both Arkansas and Missouri. [5]
The restaurants serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and breakfast items. Stores also include a grocery section called the "Fresh Market" featuring dairy products, baked goods, beverages, frozen entrees, meats and produce. [4] [6] [7] [8]
Braum's is noteworthy for its level of vertical integration. Almost all the food products sold at Braum's are processed or manufactured directly by the company; Braum's owns its own feed mill, dairy herd, dairy processing plant, bakery, stores, and delivery trucks. It also owns eight farms and ranches with a total area of 40,000 acres (160 km2), as well as its flagship dairy farm in Tuttle, Oklahoma. The dairy farm has specified times during which it is open for public tours and is a popular destination for school field trips. [4] [7] [9] Braum's describes itself as the only major ice cream maker to still milk its own cows. They also produce the packaging used for their dairy products. [4] [9]
Braum's Family Farm is home to the largest A2 milk dairy herd in the United States. A1 and A2 are genetic variants of the beta-casein milk protein. Most cow milk is A1. Non-cow milk, including that of buffalo, camels, donkeys, goats, sheep, yaks and even human mothers are mostly A2, which limits exposure to "cow milk protein allergies, including lactose intolerance". It took over 12 years to build the A2 herd. With the established A2 herd, Braum’s is now producing only A2 milk for sale in its own Braum’s stores. [10]
A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also describe a dairy farm or the part of a mixed farm dedicated to milk for human consumption, whether from cows, buffaloes, goats, yaks, sheep, horses or camels.
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that goes back to the early Neolithic era, around the seventh millennium BC, in many regions of Europe and Africa. Before the 20th century, milking was done by hand on small farms. Beginning in the early 20th century, milking was done in large scale dairy farms with innovations including rotary parlors, the milking pipeline, and automatic milking systems that were commercially developed in the early 1990s.
Dairy cattle are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species Bos taurus.
Carnation is a brand of food products. The brand was especially known for its evaporated milk product created in 1899, then called Carnation Sterilized Cream and later called Carnation Evaporated Milk. The brand has since been used for other related products including milk-flavoring mixes, flavored beverages, flavor syrups, hot cocoa mixes, instant breakfasts, corn flakes, ice cream novelties, and dog food. Nestlé acquired the Carnation Company in 1985.
Stewart's Shops is an American regional chain of convenience stores located in Upstate New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire owned by the Dake family and the employees through an ESOP plan.
Selecta is a Filipino dairy products brand owned by RFM Corporation. Its milk business is operated by RFM Corporation, while its ice cream business is operated under a joint-venture with Unilever Philippines, Inc., and serves as the Philippine branch of Unilever's Heartbrand line of ice cream.
A2 milk is a variety of cows' milk that mostly lacks a form of β-casein proteins called A1, and instead has mostly the A2 form. Cows' milk like this was brought to market by The a2 Milk Company and is sold mostly in Australia, New Zealand, China, and the United States. It was sold in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2019. Non-cow milk, including that of humans, sheep, goats, donkeys, yaks, camels, buffalo, and others, also contain mostly A2 β-casein, and so the term "A2 milk" is also used in that context.
Borden Dairy Company is an American dairy processor and distributor headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Established in 2009, the company is a successor to the original Borden Company established in 1857 by Gail Borden. The company is a former subsidiary of Dean Foods.
Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. The company's products included milk, ice cream, dairy products, cheese, juice, and teas. It processed milk in the United States under a number of regional and national brands. Founded in 1925, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, and its assets were acquired by several buyers in 2020.
Turkey Hill Dairy, or simply known as Turkey Hill, is an American brand of iced tea, ice cream and other beverages and frozen desserts distributed throughout the United States and internationally. The company, which is headquartered in Conestoga, Pennsylvania, was a subsidiary of Kroger from 1985 until it was sold to private equity firm Peak Rock Capital in 2019.
Kawartha Dairy Company is a Canadian family owned and operated dairy based in Bobcaygeon, Ontario in the City of Kawartha Lakes. The company was founded in 1937 and it remains family owned. Kawartha Dairy produces a line of milk and cream products, which are sold both wholesale and in its own retail stores. The company also operates ten of its own retail stores in Ontario.
Oberweis Dairy, headquartered in North Aurora, Illinois, is the parent company of several dairy-related and fast food restaurant operations in the midwest region of the United States. Its businesses include a home delivery service available in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin, which delivers traditional dairy products, including milk, ice cream, cheese, and yogurt, as well as bacon and seasonal products.
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and pasta sauces, bakery products, snacks, processed cheese, jams and jellies, and ice cream. It was best known for its Borden Ice Cream, Meadow Gold milk, Creamette pasta, and Borden Condensed Milk brands. Its consumer products and industrial segment marketed wallpaper, adhesives, plastics and resins. By 1993, sales of food products accounted for 67 percent of its revenue. It was also known for its Elmer's and Krazy Glue brands.
Camel milk is milk from female camels. It has supported nomad and pastoral cultures since the domestication of camels millennia ago. Herders may for periods survive solely on the milk when taking the camels on long distances to graze in desert and arid environments, especially in parts of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa. The camel dairy farming industry has grown in Australia and the United States, as an environmentally friendly alternative to cow dairy farming using a species well-adapted to arid regions.
Mövenpick Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream of Swiss origin produced initially by Nestlé. Since 2016, Froneri - a joint venture between Nestlé and R&R Ice Cream - manufactures it.
Happy Cow Creamery is a family-owned dairy farm in Pelzer, South Carolina that bottles and sells its own milk on site from the farm's closed herd of grass-fed Holstein cattle. The creamery's whole milk, buttermilk and chocolate milk is sold in the farm's on-site store and through grocery, convenience and country stores in Upstate region of South Carolina. The milk is not homogenized and is low-temperature pasteurized and inspected by the State of South Carolina.
Prairie Farms Dairy is a dairy cooperative founded in Carlinville, Illinois, and now headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. As a dairy cooperative, Prairie Farms receives milk from producers and converts it into many different products, including cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, various dips, yogurt, and fluid milk. Prairie Farms also produces and sells juices, flavored drinks, and pre-made iced tea.
The a2 Milk Company Limited is a dual listed NZX and ASX 50 public listed company that commercialises intellectual property relating to A1 protein-free milk that is sold under the a2 and a2 Milk brands, as well as the milk and related products such as infant formula.