The Ice Cream Capital Of The World Is A Little-Known Town In Iowa

When people think of ice cream hotspots, places like Italy might come to mind. After all, that's where world-famous gelato comes from! But there's a relatively unknown U.S. town in northwestern Iowa that is seemingly the ice cream capital of the world: Le Mars.

Le Mars is a town that was founded in the late 1800s and was home to many immigrants. It was originally a rather small town, but slowly, more and more people immigrated to the area, and today, it boasts a little more than 10,000 residents.

But how exactly did this town become understood as the ice cream capital of the world, and why has it become so well-known? Here's a breakdown of how Le Mars earned itself this quirky yet prestigious title, plus a few tips on where you can find all your favorite ice cream flavors if you decide to pay this town a visit.

Calling yourself the ice cream capital of the world is a pretty big statement, so it can leave plenty of people to wonder where the title came from. As it happens, the tradition dates all the way back to the early 1900s.

It all started when a local man named Fred H. Wells purchased a mobile milk business in 1913. By 1925, Wells and several other family members had upgraded their milk-selling business to a mobile ice cream stand which was successful up until 1928, when it was sold. In 1935, Wells returned to the ice cream business and opened a new company under the name Blue Bunny. 

Although it wasn't until almost 50 years later that the company began to really expand, by the '90s, Blue Bunny was a household name. Today, Blue Bunny has become the largest family-run ice cream producer in the U.S., producing around 150 million gallons of ice cream a year.

All this led to the general state assembly voting the area the Ice Cream Capital of the World in 1994, and it's stayed that way ever since.

If you want to head to Le Mars and try some beloved ice cream flavors for yourself, there are a couple of places where you should start. Head first to the Well's Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor.

There, you can not only taste some of the famous ice cream varieties that started the town's legacy, but you can also learn about the history behind it. The visitor center has an interactive exhibit where you can get up close and personal with how the famous Blue Bunny ice cream is made. You'll also learn about the other frozen treats owned by the company.

After you've explored the visitor center, you can head to the attached ice cream parlor. There, you can choose from milkshakes, cones, scoops, ice pops, floats, and even baked goods to create a concoction you love. Or, you can go for the free samples — we won't judge!