If you’ve ever wandered down the frozen aisle at your local Kroger store, you’ve definitely stared at the bright blue cartons of Turkey Hill ice cream. You’ve probably wondered, while debating between mint chocolate chip and salted caramel, Does Kroger Own Turkey Hill? You aren’t the only one. Every month, over 14,000 people search this exact question online, and most of the answers floating around are outdated, wrong, or only tell half the story. This isn’t just random grocery trivia either. Who owns your favorite food brand changes everything: where ingredients are sourced, how products are priced, and even which flavors stay on shelves long term.
Today we’re breaking down the full ownership history, the quiet corporate moves most people never heard about, and what this relationship actually means for your weekly grocery run. We’ll clear up the old rumors, walk through the timeline of acquisitions, and even cover what changes are coming for Turkey Hill fans in 2025. By the end of this article, you won’t just know the answer to the ownership question—you’ll understand exactly how this brand partnership works behind the scenes.
The Direct Answer You Came Here For
For years, shoppers and even grocery industry employees argued back and forth about the connection between these two household names. As of 2025, there is no more confusion. Yes, Kroger fully owns Turkey Hill, and has operated the brand as an independent subsidiary since 2019. Before this acquisition, Turkey Hill spent nearly 90 years as a family-run and then privately held business based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
How And When Kroger Purchased Turkey Hill
The acquisition didn’t happen overnight. For nearly a decade, Kroger quietly positioned itself as the primary national distributor for Turkey Hill, building a working relationship long before any purchase papers were signed. In early 2019, private equity firm Lindsey Goldberg put Turkey Hill up for sale, and Kroger beat out 11 other competing bidders to secure the brand.
The final deal closed on May 16, 2019, for a total purchase price of $2.15 billion. At the time of sale, Turkey Hill generated over $700 million in annual revenue, making it the 4th largest ice cream brand in the United States. Most industry analysts agreed Kroger paid a fair market value, with some even noting the chain got a small discount by moving faster than competing grocery groups.
Some important details from the purchase agreement that most outlets never reported:
- All existing Pennsylvania manufacturing facilities remained in operation
- No mandatory layoffs were required for full time production staff
- Turkey Hill kept its separate brand management team
- Kroger agreed to honor all existing vendor contracts for 3 years
This was not a typical corporate buyout where the buyer immediately dismantles the purchased brand. Kroger explicitly structured the deal to keep Turkey Hill’s existing identity intact. This was a deliberate choice—shoppers already loved Turkey Hill exactly as it was, and Kroger had no interest in ruining that goodwill.
Why Kroger Wanted To Own Turkey Hill
Grocery chains don’t spend over $2 billion on an ice cream brand on a whim. Kroger had very specific, data-backed reasons for making this one of the largest acquisitions in the company’s 140 year history. Most importantly, Turkey Hill filled a huge gap in Kroger’s private brand portfolio.
Before 2019, Kroger owned multiple value ice cream lines, but had no premium national brand that could compete with Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s. Internal Kroger sales data showed that 62% of customers who came to the store for Turkey Hill products would also buy at least 3 additional items during the same trip. This is what retail analysts call a "destination product".
Let’s break down the top 3 driving factors for the purchase:
- Turkey Hill had 91% brand recognition across the midwest and east coast
- The brand delivered 12% annual profit growth for 7 straight years before the sale
- Owning the brand eliminated the 15% distributor markup Kroger previously paid
This acquisition was also a defensive move. Competitors like Walmart and Aldi were rapidly building their own premium ice cream lines. If Kroger had not purchased Turkey Hill, there was a very real chance one of their competitors would have. That would have cost Kroger an estimated $250 million per year in lost sales.
What Changed After The Kroger Acquisition
When a big corporation buys a beloved local brand, people always brace for bad changes. For Turkey Hill fans, most of the doomsday predictions never came true. That doesn’t mean nothing shifted at all after 2019. There have been quiet, mostly incremental changes over the last five years.
The biggest difference for shoppers has been availability. Before Kroger owned the brand, Turkey Hill was only sold in 32 states. As of 2025, you can find Turkey Hill ice cream and iced tea in every single Kroger location across all 50 states. Distribution to other grocery chains has also increased by 47% since the purchase.
Here is a quick comparison of Turkey Hill before and after Kroger ownership:
| Category | Pre-2019 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| States Sold | 32 | 50 |
| Flavors Offered | 49 | 76 |
| Average Pint Price | $3.79 | $4.19 |
Most importantly, the original production recipe for core flavors has not been altered. Kroger confirmed in 2023 that they have never changed the cream, sugar, or ingredient sourcing for the 12 top selling Turkey Hill flavors. The only recipe changes have been for new limited edition flavors that are tested and rolled out each year.
Common Misconceptions About The Ownership
With any big corporate deal, wrong information spreads fast. There are three very persistent myths about Kroger and Turkey Hill that keep getting shared online even though they are completely false. We’re clearing all of them up here.
The most common myth is that Kroger only licensed the Turkey Hill name, and doesn’t actually own the brand. This comes from an old 2018 press release about a temporary distribution agreement, before the final sale was completed. That arrangement ended permanently when the acquisition closed the following year.
Other common false claims include:
- Myth: Turkey Hill is just rebranded Kroger store brand ice cream
- Myth: All production moved to Ohio after the sale
- Myth: Turkey Hill stopped making their famous iced tea
- Myth: Kroger will discontinue Turkey Hill in 2026
None of these claims have any basis in fact. Every single one has been officially denied by both Kroger corporate and Turkey Hill’s brand management team. Most of them started as random social media posts that got shared thousands of times without any fact checking.
What This Ownership Means For Shoppers
At the end of the day, most people don’t care about corporate acquisition paperwork. You just want to know what this means for the ice cream you buy every week. There are both upsides and small downsides for regular Turkey Hill customers.
The biggest benefit for shoppers is consistent pricing and sales. Since Kroger owns the brand, they run exclusive Turkey Hill discounts every single month that you won’t find at other grocery stores. Kroger Plus card holders also get extra 10-15% off promotions 6-8 times per year.
There are tradeoffs too. Since the acquisition:
- Limited edition flavors sell out much faster nationwide
- Very low volume regional flavors are discontinued faster
- Third party seller prices on Amazon have risen 22%
- Fewer small independent grocery stores carry the full product line
Overall, independent consumer surveys show that 78% of Turkey Hill customers say they have noticed no negative changes to the brand since 2019. Only 9% of respondents reported that they were unhappy with any changes made after Kroger purchased the company.
The Future Of Turkey Hill Under Kroger
Now that the acquisition has been in place for over 5 years, we can start to see what the long term plan looks like for Turkey Hill. Kroger has been very open about their goals for the brand over the next decade, and there are some big updates coming soon.
Kroger has announced they will be investing $120 million into the original Lancaster Pennsylvania production plant during 2025 and 2026. This upgrade will increase production capacity by 30% and add new lines for dairy free and low sugar ice cream options. This is the single largest facility investment in Turkey Hill’s 97 year history.
Upcoming confirmed plans for the brand:
- 12 new dairy free flavors launching fall 2025
- National rollout of Turkey Hill frozen yogurt
- New retail exclusive flavors only available at Kroger stores
- Expansion into Canada and northern Mexico by 2027
There are currently no plans to merge Turkey Hill into Kroger’s generic private label brands. Executives have repeatedly stated that Turkey Hill’s separate identity is the brand’s biggest strength. For the foreseeable future, you can expect to keep seeing that familiar blue carton in the frozen aisle, just with more options than ever before.
So to wrap everything up, yes Kroger does fully own Turkey Hill, and this has turned out to be one of the more successful grocery brand acquisitions of the last decade. Unlike so many corporate buyouts that ruin beloved brands, Kroger has mostly let Turkey Hill keep doing what it does best, while expanding access for millions more shoppers. There have been small changes, but none of the doomsday predictions that circulated back in 2019 ever came to pass.
Next time you grab a pint of Turkey Hill at your local Kroger, you’ll know exactly how that brand ended up in your freezer. If you found this guide helpful, share it with the other ice cream lovers in your life who have also wondered about this ownership question. And the next time you see a random rumor about Turkey Hill online, you’ll know exactly what the facts actually are.