The first step to success at Portland, Ore.-based Ruby’s Jewel’s 7-year-old plant, known as “Sandwich City,” is education. It has a commercial kitchen as part of its production facility, which is where the company creates the flavorings it uses for its ice cream sandwiches. For example, Ruby Jewel designs its own flavorings for use in its butterscotch and caramel ice creams.
“It is unique at our size that those things are still being produced in-house,” says Steve Panos, Ruby Jewel’s director of operations, who has served the company for more than five years. “We experimented with co-packers but did not like the finished product and loss of control regarding how we want to make the product.”