Mitchell's Ice Cream
Mitchell's Ice Cream is a 70-year-old family-owned artisanal ice cream maker operating a single flagship retail store in San Francisco's Mission District and wholesale distribution to 200+ Bay Area retailers, offering super-premium 16% butterfat ice cream.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1953
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Mitchell's Ice Cream does
Mitchell's Ice Cream is a 70-year-old, family-owned artisanal ice cream manufacturer and retailer founded in 1953 by brothers Larry and Jack Mitchell in San Francisco's Mission District. The company operates a single flagship storefront at 688 San Jose Avenue, open daily from 11:30am to 11:00pm, complemented by wholesale distribution to over 200 grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, and ice cream shops throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Customers include walk-in Mission District patrons, regional grocery consumers (via Mollie Stone's Markets, Gus's Community Markets, and 40+ other retailers), and food-service operators purchasing pre-packed half-gallon containers.
The company's product line is built on a super-premium 16% butterfat base — exceeding the typical 10-14% industry standard — and includes 40 hand-crafted flavors made fresh daily in a 10-gallon Emery Thompson batch freezer. The portfolio centers on tropical and Filipino-inspired varieties (Mango, Ube, Macapuno, Buko, Langka, Halo Halo) using imported fruits from the Philippines, alongside classic American flavors, vegan formulations made with Oatly oat milk, and dairy-free sorbets. Specialty products include 7-inch ice cream cakes, made-to-order ice cream sandwiches, milkshakes, sundaes, seasonal eggnog, and large party containers up to 3 gallons.
Mitchell's revenue model is approximately 75% retail (direct walk-in purchases plus third-party delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats and Shopify-driven online ordering for take-home pints, quarts, and cakes) and 25% wholesale. The business has never raised external capital, is entirely bootstrapped under Mitchell family ownership (Larry and Claire Mitchell), and is currently operated day-to-day by long-tenured managers Marlon and Wanda Payumo. The company has no franchises, no licensing arrangements, and no geographic expansion outside the Bay Area; growth has come from organic wholesale buildout and product line extension rather than unit expansion.
Mitchell's Ice Cream firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mitchell's Ice Cream
- Legal name
- Mitchell's Ice Cream Inc.
- Website
- https://mitchellsicecream.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1953
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mitchell's Ice Cream is a 70-year-old family-owned artisanal ice cream maker operating a single flagship retail store in San Francisco's Mission District and wholesale distribution to 200+ Bay Area retailers, offering super-premium 16% butterfat ice cream.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mitchell's Ice Cream industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artisanal Ice Cream Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (311520), Grocery and Convenience Retailers (4451)
- SIC
- Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ice Cream & Refrigerated Desserts (CRADACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Ice Cream & Gelato Shops (THAFAGAA), Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts Wholesale (AFAIAHAC)
Keywords
Where Mitchell's Ice Cream is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mitchell's Ice Cream business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Retail Storefront Sales: Direct ice cream sales at the flagship store on San Jose Avenue. Customers purchase cones, cups, sundaes, milkshakes, ice cream sandwiches, and ice cream cakes. This is the primary revenue driver, generating 75% of total revenue.
- Wholesale Distribution: Distribution of pre-packed half-gallon containers to over 200 grocery stores, restaurants, and ice cream shops throughout the Bay Area. This generates approximately 25% of total revenue.
- Online and Delivery Sales: Online ordering through their Shopify store for ice cream cakes and take-home pints/quarts, plus third-party delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | In-store ice cream (cones, cups, sundaes, shakes) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Take-home packaging |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Specialty products (cakes, sandwiches) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Mitchell's Ice Cream product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mitchell's Ice Cream manufactures and retails super-premium, hand-crafted ice cream using a 16% butterfat base, freshly produced daily in its San Francisco Mission District flagship store. The company offers 40+ rotating flavors (including tropical and Filipino-inspired varieties such as mango, ube, buko, macapuno), vegan ice cream (Oatly-based), dairy-free sorbets, ice cream cakes, milkshakes, sundaes, sandwiches, and take-home pints/half-gallons. Approximately 75% of revenue comes from the single retail storefront, with the remaining 25% generated by wholesale distribution of pre-packed half-gallon containers to over 200 grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, and ice cream shops across the Bay Area.
Product overview
Mitchell's Ice Cream operates a single flagship retail location in San Francisco's Mission District while distributing through wholesale channels. The company offers a unified super-premium ice cream portfolio centered on hand-crafted ice cream made fresh daily with 16% butterfat, complemented by vegan alternatives (Oatly-based), dairy-free sorbets, and specialty products including ice cream cakes, milkshakes, sundaes, and sandwiches. Take-home packaging (1/2 gallons, quarts, pints) extends consumption beyond the store, while wholesale distribution to 200+ Bay Area retailers broadens accessibility. The product line emphasizes tropical and Filipino-inspired flavors alongside classic American varieties.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Super-Premium Ice Cream Hand-crafted super-premium ice cream made fresh daily with a 16% butterfat base using a 10-gallon Emery Thompson batch freezer; 40+ rotating flavors including tropical, classic, and seasonal varieties.
- Vegan Ice Cream 100% dairy-free ice cream made with Oatly oat milk, available in multiple rotating flavors for vegan and dairy-free customers.
- Sorbets Dairy-free sorbets made from scratch with fruit purées, cane sugar, and water; 3 rotating flavors daily including Coconut Lychee, Guava, and Mango.
- Ice Cream Cakes 7-inch round all-ice-cream cakes (no cake layer, just ice cream) in flavors including Mango, Oreo Cookie, Thin Mint, Toasted Almond & Mocha Fudge, Vanilla & Chocolate, and Vanilla & Strawberry; available in-store or by online pre-order.
- Milkshakes Custom blended milkshakes in 16 oz and 24 oz sizes, made with any of the 40+ ice cream flavors and optional homemade whipped cream.
- Sundaes and Splits Customizable ice cream sundaes and banana splits with choice of flavors and toppings including hot fudge, caramel, mango, strawberry, chocolate, marshmallow, and pineapple.
- Ice Cream Sandwiches Made-to-order ice cream sandwiches featuring freshly baked cookies with customer's choice of ice cream flavor.
- Seasonal Eggnog Drink Super-rich and creamy eggnog beverage made with cream, sugar, eggs, and rum flavoring; available seasonally from November through early January.
- Take-Home Ice Cream Containers Pre-packed ice cream for home consumption available in 1/2 gallons, quarts (2 lbs), pints (1 lb), and 1/2-pints (8 oz); large party containers of 1.5 or 3 gallons available by phone order one week ahead.
- Wholesale Distribution to Bay Area Retailers Pre-packed 1/2 gallon ice cream containers distributed to over 200 grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, and ice cream shops across the Bay Area, including Mollie Stone's Markets and Gus's Community Market.
Quantifiable outcome
- Ranked #1 most saved ice cream shop in America on Yelp (2026)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Mitchell's Ice Cream
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Mitchell's Ice Cream technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature3 records
Mitchell's Ice Cream partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OatlycoreMitchell's Ice Cream uses Oatly oat milk for their vegan ice cream flavors, which are 100% dairy-free. This partnership enables Mitchell's to serve the growing vegan and dairy-free consumer segment.
- Guittard ChocolateminorGuittard cocoa is used in multiple chocolate-based flavors including Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel Crackle, Rocky Road, and Mexican Chocolate. Guittard cocoa is responsibly and sustainably produced from cocoa beans grown in the Dominican Republic and the Ivory Coast.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Mitchell's Ice Cream competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Bi-Rite Creamery: San Francisco-based artisanal ice cream maker and scoop shop with a single flagship location and wholesale presence. Comparable as a Bay Area craft ice cream brand competing for the same premium local customer.
- Smitten Ice Cream: Bay Area-based ice cream brand using liquid-nitrogen batch freezing for fresh-made premium ice cream. Comparable small-batch craft positioning serving the same SF customer base.
- Humphry Slocombe: San Francisco-origin craft ice cream brand known for creative and unconventional flavors. Direct competitor in the Bay Area artisanal ice cream category with similar scoop-shop and wholesale distribution model.
- Polly Ann Ice Cream: Historic San Francisco neighborhood ice cream parlor operating for decades in a single location. Comparable legacy single-store business model and Bay Area loyal customer base.
Broad incumbents
- Salt & Straw Ice Cream: Venture-backed artisanal ice cream brand operating multiple scoop shops across the West Coast and beyond. Comparable craft positioning with much larger scale and expansion ambitions.
- Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams: Privately held premium ice cream brand with national scoop-shop footprint and direct-to-consumer shipping. Comparable super-premium positioning with significantly broader distribution.
- Ben & Jerry's: Unilever-owned super-premium ice cream brand with national scoop-shop franchise and grocery distribution. Comparable premium ingredient narrative and retail/wholesale dual model at massive scale.
- McConnell's Fine Ice Creams: Santa Barbara-based super-premium ice cream maker with scoop shops and national wholesale distribution. Comparable craft heritage, quality positioning, and butterfat-rich formulations.
- Häagen-Dazs: Iconic super-premium ice cream brand owned by Nestlé with mass retail distribution. Comparable butterfat-rich premium positioning but at industrial scale and global reach.
Regional players
- CREAM (Cookies + Cream): Bay Area-born ice cream sandwich and scoop brand. Comparable craft positioning and Bay Area customer overlap but with a franchised expansion model that Mitchell's has not adopted.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mitchell's Ice Cream social profiles
Digital presenceMitchell's Ice Cream financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mitchell's Ice Cream leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Mitchell's Ice Cream funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mitchell's Ice Cream M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mitchell's Ice Cream
What does Mitchell's Ice Cream do?
Mitchell's Ice Cream manufactures and retails super-premium, hand-crafted ice cream using a 16% butterfat base, freshly produced daily in its San Francisco Mission District flagship store. The company offers 40+ rotating flavors (including tropical and Filipino-inspired varieties such as mango, ube, buko, macapuno), vegan ice cream (Oatly-based), dairy-free sorbets, ice cream cakes, milkshakes, sundaes, sandwiches, and take-home pints/half-gallons. Approximately 75% of revenue comes from the single retail storefront, with the remaining 25% generated by wholesale distribution of pre-packed half-gallon containers to over 200 grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, and ice cream shops across the Bay Area.
Is Mitchell's Ice Cream a public or private company?
Mitchell's Ice Cream is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Mitchell's Ice Cream founded?
Mitchell's Ice Cream was founded in 1953. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mitchell's Ice Cream based?
Mitchell's Ice Cream is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mitchell's Ice Cream make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Retail Storefront Sales are the primary driver. The others are wholesale Distribution and online and Delivery Sales.
Who are Mitchell's Ice Cream's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Bi-Rite Creamery, Smitten Ice Cream, Humphry Slocombe and Polly Ann Ice Cream. Broad incumbents are Salt & Straw Ice Cream, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Ben & Jerry's, McConnell's Fine Ice Creams and Häagen-Dazs. CREAM (Cookies + Cream) is listed as a regional player.
Does Mitchell's Ice Cream have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mitchell's Ice Cream.
What industry is Mitchell's Ice Cream in?
Mitchell's Ice Cream's product category is Artisanal Ice Cream Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADACAE, Ice Cream & Refrigerated Desserts, with a secondary code of THAFAGAA, Ice Cream & Gelato Shops. Its NAICS code is 311520 and its SIC code is 2024.