A household name in Haliburton County has now expanded into western Canada – as well as opened three new retail stores this year.
Kawartha Dairy owner Mike Crowe told The Highlander that since his family’s company was founded in 1937, it has
become a staple in Ontario cottage country. It has a retail store in Minden and its products can be found across the Highlands.
He said their ice cream is still made the traditional way with fresh milk and cream from local farms, and people can find it in most major grocery stores across Ontario, a large number of partner scoop shops, and 13 Kawartha Dairy stores.
He added Kawartha Dairy ice cream is now available in Calgary Co-op and Freson Brothers in Alberta, and 12 scoop shops in British Columbia.
“We’re excited to bring the taste of the Kawarthas to consumers in Western Canada,” he said
Crowe added they are also “thrilled” to share that they have opened three new Kawartha Dairy retail stores this year, with customers in Burlington, Cobourg and Danforth now experiencing their “small-town values, and high-quality customer service… and we’re excited to be part of those communities.”
Crowe said this year they also launched four new ice cream flavours – Dockside, Cappuccino, Grape, and Nanaimo Bar
“And this September, look for our new Spiced Apple Ripple,” he said. They now have 50-plus flavours.
Crowe teased, “we can’t give you the inside scoop on 2025 just yet, but let’s just say you can expect some new flavours and more exciting news in the future.”
In 2017, the Kawartha Dairy Company celebrated its 80th anniversary of the 100 per cent Canadian, 100 per cent family-owned company. It is still operated by the same family that started it back in the beginning.
In 1937, Jack and Ila Crowe took a leap of faith and bought a small dairy in Bobcaygeon. The early 1960s saw the
company expand to Minden, where it opened a depot and its now famous dairy bar.
“Although the office and plant are in Bobcaygeon, to many cottagers and summer visitors the heart of Kawartha Dairy lies in Minden, where stopping for a cone is an essential part of summer,” the company says on its website.
