Results: Customers rejoice Blue Bell comeback

After a several-month absence on shelves, Blue Bell ice cream is back — and the brand’s loyal customers couldn’t be more pleased. Stevetta Barnes is a Blue Bell believer. Barnes wasted no time and visited McDade’s Market in Jackson’s Maywood Shopping Center Monday morning to buy what she had been craving all these months. “I literally cried,” Barnes said referring to the moment she heard the news Blue Bell would be removed from grocery stores in Mississippi. Barnes said she is glad she will no longer be forced to purchase Luvel ice cream — which now sits next to Blue Bell in the frozen isle in similar round tubs. “I was cheating with the twin — Luvel,” Barnes said laughing. “Now I don’t have to deal with his twin anymore.” Barnes vowed to stay faithful to Blue Bell, which she said she has purchased for as long as she can remember and tastes better than its alternatives. The Maywood Mart McDade's location received their re-release shipment Monday morning before opening. Store manager Mark Larson said he was glad his location stocked the ice cream early because the very first customers to walk through the door asked for it. “It’s good to have Blue Bell back,” Larson said. “It’s a big part of our business.” Joni Duperier, who went shopping Monday morning, said she was given specific instructions to pick up Vanilla Blue Bell for Christmas. “We’ll be having it with our pecan pie,” Duperier said. It seems most shoppers forgave and forgot the two recalls that Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries issued amid listeria concerns earlier this year before the company voluntarily shut down its Oklahoma manufacturing plant in April. Larson said the brand left at a critical time right before summer and hotter weather, creating concerns from a business standpoint. He added that the company handled the recall with grace, which can only help sales in the long run. “I don’t think there’s going to be a trust issue after this,” Larson said. Jarlisa Spann, a McDade's book keeper and cashier, said the store was relieved when they got word in November that Blue Bell would be re-stocked. Until then, store employees did not have a re-release date they could tell the many customers who wanted to know when to expect the ice cream to return. "A lot of people like them more than other ice cream brands," Spann said. The re-release in Mississippi is included in the company's Phase Four of restocking, according to Joe Robertson, public relations manager for Blue Bell Creameries. Phase Four will service 844 supermarkets and a total of 1,912 accounts. Robertson said the issues have been addressed and that each batch of ice cream is tested before leaving the plant. "We took the necessary steps to make enhancements to our facilities, processes and procedures, and lastly we have a test and hold procedure that tests every batch of ice cream," Robertson said. "No product is placed into inventory until it is tested and proven safe." Larson said Blue Bell is an especially popular ice cream brand at his store because of its local appeal. Though not made in Mississippi, the company’s Southern roots give it an edge over others. “Most folks in Jackson consider (Blue Bell) the hometown ice cream,” Larson said. Blue Bell initially planned to limit the re-release to the brand’s top five flavors: Homemade Vanilla, Cookies ‘n Cream, Dutch Chocolate, The Great Divide and Buttered Pecan, but McDade’s on Northside Drive is now also carrying Pistachio and Peppermint flavors. "I am thrilled to see Blue Bell ice cream back at McDade's today," said customer Claudia Hauberg. "I've missed it." Hauberg said will look forward to the return of the the brand's coffee flavor. Contact Anna Wolfe at (601) 961-7326 or awolfe@gannett.com. Follow @ayewolfe on Twitter.