Gilbert G.
Yelp
This is a fun, 30-minute tour if you're visiting from out-of-town. It's a kid-friendly activity (just a short movie, followed by a generous tasting of a new flavor, and brief overview of the factory line). Be sure to make an advance reservation if you want to go on the 30-minute factory tour. Otherwise, the outdoor flavor graveyard is free and available anytime (you don't need a prior reservation to see it). Below are a few highlights.
1. The Outdoor Flavor Graveyard is free. You can go there without paying for thee tour. It's a hilarious pilgrimage to honor flavors that did not have the sustained demand to justify its continued market distribution.
2. Trying out an experimental flavor. As part of the tour, you'll try a new flavor that is being market tested. We had a generous sample of "Crazy for Churros" which was outstanding. It can take 3-4 years for a new flavor to reach widespread distribution.
3. Watching kids get excited about ice cream. It's fun to see such pure joy among children (elementary and middle school) on the tour. One marketing strategy of Ben and Jerry's is to appeal to kids who continue to buy the ice cream as they age into adults. Our tour guide asked who came the furthest distance to visit Waterbury, VT. You'll be surprised to learn that your fellow tourist family may have journeyed from Houston, San Francisco, or Brazil!
4. Learning about the history of Ben and Jerry's. In the short video, it was fun to see how a risky experiment in a former garage located in Burlington, VT became a global brand. I enjoyed learning how Ben and Jerry met in high school as "last place" finishers in gym class - and their overarching mission to support community and advance social justice by bringing people together.
5. This only downside was the abysmal state of the public restrooms. Given the volume of foot traffic, I can unequivocally state that the men's restroom was nasty and sorely in need of periodic cleaning. While it's not a priority for Ben and Jerry's, I think they need a bit more restroom cleaning! If they can stop the entire factory line for a federally mandated cleaning every 72 hours, maybe they can do the same for their bathrooms every 12 or 24 hours...
Finally, we learned that Unilever has 3 factories worldwide for the production of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (one in Waterbury, VT: another in St. Albans, VT; and a third in the Netherlands). Overall, it was well worth the 30 minutes for this fun, touristy stop!