Rhino Foods
Encyclopedia
Rhino Foods Incorporated, founded in 1981 by Anne and Ted Castle, is a specialty ice cream
novelty and ice cream ingredient manufacturer located in Burlington
, Vermont
, United States
. Rhino Foods has grown from a small ice cream shop, Chessy's Frozen Custard, into a major Vermont business with over 120 employees. The company is best known locally for their ice cream sandwich
, the Chesster. Twenty years ago, Rhino Foods partnered with Ben & Jerry's to develop the first cookie dough for use in ice cream. Ben & Jerry's
Cookie Dough flavor has been a top-seller ever since. Beyond this long standing relationship with Ben & Jerry's, Rhino produces millions of pounds of cookie dough and other pieces for most major brands in the ice cream industry. The company also co-packs ice cream cookie sandwiches for national and international companies.
, Rhino Foods was featured as a model company for the article entitled "Cutting Work Hours Without Cutting Staff". The article described Rhino Foods' innovative workplace practice, the Employee Exchange Program (EEP), as a way to manage seasonal staffing demands to the benefit of employees and the company. Rhino Foods sent 15 factory workers as temporary staff to the lip balm manufacturer Autumn Harp for a week to deal with the holiday rush. Ted Castle, President of Rhino Foods, sees the EEP as an alternative to laying off valued workers and he feels it is beneficial to the company in the long term.
The Employee Exchange Program was developed in 1993 when a group of Rhino employees held brainstorming sessions on how to respond to a drop in staffing needs during the winter months. This creative response is an example of the progressive work this manufacturing company does to invest in their staff, support the wider community, and grow the business.
from the 1970s. He coached in Vermont as well as Maine and played professionally in Italy and Sweden. He is also known for his activism with child abuse prevention, Shelburne Farms
, The United Way, and Vermont Special Olympics
. He is known locally for his involvement coaching local sports teams.
The Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) presented Ted Castle with the 2009 Terry Ehrich Award for Socially Responsible Business Practices. It is Ted's belief that it is the role of business to create positive social change. He has been an advocate and leader in the business community to support the hiring and retention of refugees. Ted also developed a Wellness and Health Awareness Team with the United Way. The team is known as HELP (Helping Employees Live Productively). He adopted open book management in the early days of the company to provide financial information and share company priorities.
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
novelty and ice cream ingredient manufacturer located in Burlington
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Rhino Foods has grown from a small ice cream shop, Chessy's Frozen Custard, into a major Vermont business with over 120 employees. The company is best known locally for their ice cream sandwich
Ice cream sandwich
An ice cream sandwich is a frozen confection composed of a layer of ice cream, usually vanilla , "sandwiched" between two biscuits/cookies or slices of cake, usually chocolate.-Australia:...
, the Chesster. Twenty years ago, Rhino Foods partnered with Ben & Jerry's to develop the first cookie dough for use in ice cream. Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate, that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, United...
Cookie Dough flavor has been a top-seller ever since. Beyond this long standing relationship with Ben & Jerry's, Rhino produces millions of pounds of cookie dough and other pieces for most major brands in the ice cream industry. The company also co-packs ice cream cookie sandwiches for national and international companies.
The Chesster
Rhino Foods has its own brand of ice cream cookie sandwich known as a Chesster. The Chesster have been a regional product enjoyed for 30 years. The owner of Rhino Foods, Ted Castle, came up with the recipe for the cookies and added rich custard ice cream - like he'd enjoyed growing up in Western New York State - to make this tasty treat. Food Network's Unwrapped filmed the manufacturing of Chessters in 2003 increasing national interest in this product.Company Environment
In the February 2009 edition of BusinessWeekBusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
, Rhino Foods was featured as a model company for the article entitled "Cutting Work Hours Without Cutting Staff". The article described Rhino Foods' innovative workplace practice, the Employee Exchange Program (EEP), as a way to manage seasonal staffing demands to the benefit of employees and the company. Rhino Foods sent 15 factory workers as temporary staff to the lip balm manufacturer Autumn Harp for a week to deal with the holiday rush. Ted Castle, President of Rhino Foods, sees the EEP as an alternative to laying off valued workers and he feels it is beneficial to the company in the long term.
The Employee Exchange Program was developed in 1993 when a group of Rhino employees held brainstorming sessions on how to respond to a drop in staffing needs during the winter months. This creative response is an example of the progressive work this manufacturing company does to invest in their staff, support the wider community, and grow the business.
Ted Castle
Ted Castle is the founder, owner, and CEO of Rhino Foods. He is the face of Rhino Foods and responsible for much of the business's success. He is a former All American hockey player at the University of VermontUniversity of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
from the 1970s. He coached in Vermont as well as Maine and played professionally in Italy and Sweden. He is also known for his activism with child abuse prevention, Shelburne Farms
Shelburne Farms
Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit environmental education center and National Historic Landmark on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont. It is also one of the principal concert sites for the Vermont Mozart Festival....
, The United Way, and Vermont Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
. He is known locally for his involvement coaching local sports teams.
The Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) presented Ted Castle with the 2009 Terry Ehrich Award for Socially Responsible Business Practices. It is Ted's belief that it is the role of business to create positive social change. He has been an advocate and leader in the business community to support the hiring and retention of refugees. Ted also developed a Wellness and Health Awareness Team with the United Way. The team is known as HELP (Helping Employees Live Productively). He adopted open book management in the early days of the company to provide financial information and share company priorities.