What Home City Ice does

Home City Ice, founded in 1893 in Home City, Ohio (now Sayler Park) and owned by the Sedler family since 1924, is the largest family-owned packaged ice company in North America. The company manufactures and distributes packaged ice products—including 7-pound Small Bags, 20–25-pound Big Bags, ice nuggets, block ice, and dry ice—using a proprietary water-in-motion freezing process in which water cascades over vertical stainless steel plates chilled by refrigeration, with multiple filtration stages producing crystal-clear ice frozen from the inside out. The product portfolio is extended by refrigerated merchandiser, cooler, and truck rentals; a customer mobile app for order placement and delivery tracking; a proprietary payment-by-scan platform; and handheld smart devices deployed to route drivers since 2013.

The commercial model is built around a Direct Store Delivery (DSD) network of route drivers serving established retail accounts—convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores—on weekly-to-biweekly schedules across 25 states, with 12–15 deliveries per driver per day and merchandiser rental embedded in retailer locations. Secondary revenue streams include industrial/commercial bulk ice supply, restaurant and bar delivery, and event-venue ice (minimum 1,000 lb orders). Revenue grew from $66,000 in 1950 to over $200 million in 2020, and the company expanded from 8 locations in the 1990s to 160 locations today, primarily through acquisitions that drove market entries in Georgia (2010), St. Louis (2012), Kansas City (2019), and Iowa (2020). Headcount expands seasonally from approximately 1,300 base employees to 3,500 during the May–September peak.

The company is led by the third generation of the Sedler family, with the fourth generation entering the business, and remains privately held without venture capital or private equity backing. Governance is anchored by Jay Stautberg (CFO since 1994) and Greg Geiser (long-tenured customer representative). The company is a member of the International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA) and every production facility is NSF-certified. Key enterprise customer relationships include Kroger (grocery retail since 1972) and King Kwik (convenience retail strategic alliance since the 1960s).

Name

Home City Ice

Legal name

The Home City Ice Compay

Website

https://homecityice.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Home City Ice is the largest family-owned packaged ice company in North America, manufacturing and distributing ice products across 25 states through a Direct Store Delivery network serving retailers, industrial customers, restaurants, and event venues. Founded 1893, Sedler family-owned since 1924.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Packaged Ice Sales: Sale of bagged ice in various sizes (Small Bag, Big Bag/25lb) through direct store delivery to retailers and convenience stores. Primary revenue driver representing the majority of sales.
2. Merchandiser Rental: Rental of ice merchandisers (refrigerated display cases) to retailers. Home City Ice maintains boxes with any maintenance or replacement needed. Credits provided for lost ice if rental breaks down.
3. Industrial/Commercial Ice Supply: Bulk ice sales for industrial processing, food grade manufacturing, construction cooling, and job site use. Weekly/biweekly deliveries with emergency delivery options available.
4. Event Ice Delivery: Ice delivery services for public events at venues like churches and wedding venues. Minimum delivery of 1,000 lbs required for event delivery.
5. Dry Ice Sales: Some facilities inventory dry ice while others work with dry ice suppliers to service customer needs. Available at Chicago IL, Parkersburg WV, and Olmsted Falls OH locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Home City Ice is the largest family-owned packaged ice manufacturer and delivery company in North America, producing and distributing bagged ice (Small Bag, Big Bag, ice nuggets, block ice, and dry ice) through a direct store delivery (DSD) network spanning 160 locations across 25 states. The company serves retailers, industrial and commercial customers, restaurants and bars, event venues, and individual consumers via its route-driver fleet, merchandiser rental program, plant/dock pickup, and consumer mobile app.

Product overview

Home City Ice is a packaged ice manufacturer and delivery service company operating as the largest family-owned ice company in North America. The company offers a core portfolio of ice products (Small Bags, Big Bags, Ice Nuggets, Block Ice, and Dry Ice) complemented by equipment rentals (merchandisers, coolers, trucks) and digital platforms (customer mobile app, payment systems, handheld devices). Service offerings include Direct Store Delivery, Route Driver, Production, and Maintenance services across 160 locations in 25 states serving retail (convenience stores, gas stations, grocery), industrial, and food service (restaurants, bars, events) customer segments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Packaged Ice - Small Bag Consumer-sized packaged ice in small bags (7 lb) designed for in-home use and small gatherings; sold through retailer accounts.
• Packaged Ice - Big Bag (20-25 lb) The company's primary consumer product; large 20-25 pound bags designed for coolers and parties; accounts for the majority of company sales and increases retailer sales by 30%.
• Ice Nuggets Thicker turbo ice nuggets that replaced cubes in 1981; nuggets are the primary product offering as cubes presented sanitation hazards and were expensive to produce.
• Block Ice Traditional block ice product, including packaged blocks and 300-pound blocks available for ice carvings or larger commercial needs.
• Dry Ice Dry ice inventory available at select facilities (Chicago IL, Parkersburg WV, Olmsted Falls OH) with coordination with suppliers at other locations.
• Ice Merchandiser Rental Refrigerated ice display cases available for rent with delivery, installation, maintenance, and replacement services included; credits provided for lost ice if equipment breaks down.
• Cooler Rental Refrigerated coolers available for rent for special occasions or emergency needs.
• Refrigerated Truck Rental Refrigerated trucks available to rent for special occasions or emergency needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Big Bag (25lb) increases a retailer's ice sales by 30%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• King KwikcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1965Strategic partnership alliance formed in the 1960s with King Kwik convenience stores. Both companies flourished and grew together under this alliance. Tom Sedler developed the partnership as Home City Ice pivoted from home delivery to convenience store delivery after refrigerator adoption disrupted the ice business.
• National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)coreOthersNSF certification mandated by IPIA for every Home City Ice production facility. NSF international standards ensure food safety and public health protection for packaged ice products.
• International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA)coreOthersIPIA is the accrediting organization for packaged ice suppliers. Home City Ice is a proud member. IPIA mandates inspections and certification by NSF for all member production facilities.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Penguin Dry Ice: Penguin Dry Ice manufactures and distributes dry ice to industrial, food processing, and commercial customers nationwide — directly comparable to Home City Ice's dry ice offering carried at select facilities and the broader cold-chain product portfolio.
• Arctic Ice: Arctic Ice is a regional packaged ice producer serving convenience stores, gas stations, and food service customers via direct delivery across select Midwest and other U.S. geographies, directly comparable to Home City Ice's DSD business model and customer base.
• Reddy Ice: Reddy Ice is the largest packaged ice manufacturer and distributor in North America, producing and delivering bagged ice through direct store delivery to retailers, restaurants, and convenience stores — directly competing with Home City Ice in core geographies and customer segments.

Others

• True Manufacturing: True Manufacturing produces commercial refrigeration and ice-making equipment for foodservice and retail customers, adjacent to Home City Ice's packaged ice business through equipment that enables in-house ice production at the customer level.
• Manitowoc Ice: Manitowoc Ice manufactures commercial ice machines and equipment used in foodservice and retail — adjacent to Home City Ice's packaged ice business as a supplier of in-house ice-making equipment that competes at the customer level with bagged ice.

Regional players

• Crystal Clear Ice: Crystal Clear Ice is a regional packaged ice manufacturer serving retailers and food service customers in select U.S. geographies, comparable in product format (bagged ice) and customer base to Home City Ice but with limited geographic overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/homecityicejobs
• Facebookfacebook.com/homecityicejobs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/home-city-ice

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Home City Ice