Graeter's
Corporate brand
UnclaimedGraeter's is an American ice cream company known for handcrafted, French Pot-made ice cream and its Cincinnati origins.
Last updated September 25, 2026
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Overview
Graeter's is an American ice cream company that traces its beginnings to 1870 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its official history says Louis Charles Graeter started by selling ice cream from two carts after making it in French Pots. In 1900, Louis and his wife, Regina, opened a permanent shop at 967 East McMillan Street in Walnut Hills, where the family lived upstairs, made ice cream and candy in the back, and sold products to neighbors from the front of the store. The company presents its French Pot process as central to its identity and product. It describes the technique as a traditional, labor-intensive, small-batch method dating back to 1870, which it continues to use. Graeter's connects this method with its dense, rich ice cream and large chocolate pieces, distinguishing its approach from modern mass production. The brand sells ice cream in flavors and curated collections, including through nationwide delivery of hand-packed products. Its website also promotes gift packs, corporate gifting, and candy. The company describes its shipping as hand-packed and hand-delivered to customers' doors and advertises nationwide ice cream delivery with products kept frozen. The site also presents seasonal and collaborative offerings, including a Toyota Sienna promotion and a PAPER collaboration bundle. Graeter's history is rooted in Cincinnati, and the company describes its beginnings and early expansion there. Its current website serves customers through online shopping and gifting, while also presenting its longstanding craft process as a defining feature. The supplied material does not establish its current headquarters, ownership structure, executive leadership, or precise store footprint.
History
Graeter's traces its origin to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1870. According to the company's official history, Louis Charles Graeter began selling ice cream from two carts after making it in French Pots. The French Pot method remains an important part of the company's account of its identity: Graeter's describes it as a traditional, labor-intensive process that produces dense ice cream and large chocolate pieces, and says it continues to use the method. In 1900, Louis and Regina Graeter established the business at 967 East McMillan Street in Walnut Hills. The company describes the early shop as both a family home and a place of production and retail: the family lived upstairs, made ice cream and candy at the back, and served neighbors at the front. After Louis died in 1920, Regina continued the business with their two young sons. The official history credits her with sustaining the company despite the prejudices women faced at the time. In 1922, she opened a new ice cream parlor in Hyde Park and continued expanding the business. The company's account contrasts Regina's decision to retain small-batch French Pot production with the mass-production methods adopted by other ice cream companies as the industry sought lower overhead and greater output. Graeter's presents that continuity of craft production as a defining distinction. The current website promotes ice cream flavors and collections, nationwide delivery, corporate gifts, and candy, while maintaining the French Pot story as a central explanation of the product. It also features contemporary promotional collaborations. The supplied sources do not establish later ownership changes, leadership appointments, a full chronology of expansion, or current headquarters, so those details are not stated here.
- 1922
New ice cream parlor opens in Hyde Park
- 1920
Regina continues the business after Louis's death
- 1900
First permanent shop opens in Walnut Hills
- 1870
Louis Charles Graeter begins selling ice cream in Cincinnati
Products and positioning
An artisanal ice cream brand that emphasizes its Cincinnati heritage, small-batch French Pot process, dense texture, and large chocolate pieces.
French Pot ice cream
The company's handcrafted ice cream made using its traditional French Pot process.
Ice cream gift packs and delivery
The website offers curated ice cream packs and nationwide hand-packed delivery.
Candy
Candy is included in the company's corporate-gifting and shopping offerings.
Brand decisions
- Continued use of small-batch French Pot productionOther
Recent events
Sources5 sources
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