Blue Bell ice cream is back.
America’s third-largest ice cream brand, which has cultivated a devoted following of ice cream lovers over the past century, has begun delivering ice cream to select markets after a deadly listeria outbreak caused a summer-long factory shutdown and a recall of 8 million gallons of ice cream.
The deadly bacteria contamination, which was linked to three deaths and several other illnesses, could have meant the end for the 108-year-old ice cream maker, which had previously been cited for listeria problems.
But a Texas oil billionaire came to the rescue with an offer of up to $125 million to keep the brand afloat. The shot in the arm from Sid Bass, a legendary investor known for making big bets on companies like Walt Disney $DIS, helped Blue Bell clean up its production facilities and begin churning out ice cream just in time for the end of summer.
Listeria is a serious problem and the shutdown sent a scare across the dairy industry (paywall). But Blue Bell fans, including the governor of Texas, were mostly just happy the ice cream was back on the shelves.
