Bassetts Ice Cream in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is America’s oldest ice cream brand and a family-owned and operated business.
The company is now on its sixth generation of family ownership.
Alex Bassett Strange, formerly an Account Executive at Bassetts Ice Cream, is the sixth generation in his family to join the company.
Bassett Strange scooped his first scoop of his family’s ice cream behind the counter at 15 years old when he worked for his uncle. He is now the president of the company.
In a blog post, Bassett Strange said of his family business, “Bassetts Ice Cream got its start back in 1861, when my great-great-great grandfather started making ice cream by mule power in New Jersey. He would take his finished product to the farmers markets in Philadelphia, and due to popular demand, he opened a shop at 5th and Market Streets in 1885. When the Reading Terminal Market opened in 1892, he opened a retail store there, and we’ve been there ever since.”
Bassett Strange reflected on the 125-year-old marble countertop remaining at the store in the Reading Terminal Market. He said, “We pride ourselves on our rich history and heritage, and the recipe we use for our ice cream today was developed by my great grandfather.”
The family store has expanded over the years to sell to independent dipping parlors, restaurants, country clubs, and retirement communities.
Bassett Strange noted that a connection made at an international business networking event has allowed Bassetts to sell ice cream in China since 2008. Since then, Bassetts’ influence has spread even further across the globe.
“As of 2017, we started selling our ice cream in Korea. This stemmed from a fellow merchant at Reading Terminal Market sharing that they might have an opportunity to bring Bassetts Ice Cream to Korea,” Bassett Strange said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture connected Bassetts with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development authorized trade representative in Korea, who was able to help the business launch there.
Bassett Strange, now the president of the company, explained at an event last year that the business has been experimenting with flavors to meet international customer demands.
“Matcha, which we otherwise probably would not have formulated, but we were exporting to China, South Korea and Taiwan,” said Bassett Strange.
Bassetts is a PA Preferred company, and all of its dairy comes from farmers right here in Pennsylvania.
The historic ice cream parlor is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where it has remained for generations.
