Compared to many other ice cream processors, Wallingford, Conn.-based Praline’s Inc. runs a rather small operation. The 34-year-old company got its start with a single Praline’s ice cream store in Wallingford; it later sold that shop through a franchise agreement to exit retail — and enter the ice cream-making business full time.
Praline’s currently produces ice cream in a 5,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehousing facility that doubles as its headquarters. Customers include 11 namesake franchised ice cream parlors (including that very first Praline’s store) and about a dozen independent parlors, as well as select foodservice operations via a three-year-old distributor agreement.