CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When President Ronald Reagan created National Ice Cream Day in 1984, Thrifty Ice Cream was already a long established California tradition. Nearly three decades later, Rite Aid's private brand Thrifty Ice Cream is ready to help Californians celebrate National Ice Cream Day this July 17 with a new lineup including new flavors and varieties such as the brand's first ever nonfat frozen yogurt and take-home pint containers.
"Thrifty Ice Cream has long been a high-quality, affordable ice cream with a loyal fan base with a uniquely Californian history," said Ron Simmer, General Manager of the Thrifty Ice Cream plant in El Monte, Calif. "Rite Aid is proud to unveil the new lineup as the latest in the still-evolving Thrifty tradition."
The new Thrifty Ice Cream lineup is available now in nearly all California Rite Aid stores and includes:
- Nonfat frozen yogurt available at the nostalgic hand-dipped ice cream counters in nearly 500 California Rite Aid stores. Frozen yogurt is available in vanilla with more flavors coming soon.
- Take home pint containers that, for $2.29 each, are less than half the price of many national competitors. Pints are currently available in four flavors with more debuting soon.
- Birthday Cake ice cream sandwiches that keep the party going with the festive flavor that debuted in 2010 to celebrate Thrifty's 70th birthday. This vanilla-wafer sandwich is one of four available flavors.
New flavors to savor
Although some flavors come and go, long-running hits include Chocolate Malted Krunch, Butter Pecan, Mint N Chip, and Rocky Road. Every year there are several limited availability feature flavors among the approximately 25 total flavors. In July, customers can try the new sherbet-based Apricot and Mango, which will be followed by new Key Lime Cheesecake in August. Circus Cookies, the pink-and-white-iced feature flavor from April, is joining the regular flavor lineup due to popular demand.
Thrifty Ice Cream has been winning gold medals at the Los Angeles county fair every year since 1952. All Thrifty Ice Cream is made with Real California Milk, and many of the ice cream recipes have remained the same for 50 years. The Thrifty Ice Cream tradition began in 1940, when the first production plant opened in Hollywood, Calif. In 1976, the plant relocated to El Monte, Calif., where it remains.
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with approximately 4,700 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2011 annual revenues of $25.2 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at www.riteaid.com.