You may have never heard of Central Smith Creamery – but you probably know their ice cream

During the summer, a takeout window at the Central Smith Creamery factory store in Peterborough, Ont., serves frozen treats directly to the community.Heather Doughty Photography/Central Smith Ice cream

Central Smith Creamery is one of the oldest ice cream emporiums in Canada, with a rich history dating back to 1896.

Never heard of it? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. But odds are you’ve indulged in a heaping scoop of one their 61 classic flavours, whether from a quaint roadside stand, a Montana’s or the Keg dessert menu, or even a hospital tray.

“We kind of fly under the radar,” says Jennifer Scates, whose husband’s family has run the creamery in Peterborough, Ont., since 1978. “Most Canadians have probably ordered our ice cream and don’t even know it. And we’re okay with that.”

The Scates family decided when they took over the business to almost exclusively sell wholesale so they could focus on what they do best – “make delicious ice cream that makes people happy,” Scates says. “As my husband, Ian, says, ‘If you can’t have fun making ice cream, you just can’t have fun.”

The ‘fun’ happens in the original, red-roofed facility where, at the turn-of-the-century, local farmers hauled in fresh milk by horse and cart. While the building has evolved – with upgraded tech and expanded production – it still carries the soul of its humble beginnings. During summer, a takeout window at the factory serves frozen treats directly to the community, until Thanksgiving.

Central Smith Creamery's original red-roofed facility in Peterborough, Ont., in 1978, when local farmers hauled in fresh milk by horse and cart.Central Smith Ice cream

“When we started 47 years ago, 100 tubs of ice cream would last us approximately a month,” says Scates. “Now we sell about 180,000 tubs every four weeks.”

Despite the explosive growth, the company’s core values remain the same: innovate, provide good service and never compromise on quality. “Our biggest challenge is dreaming up new flavour combinations – and just as important, catchy names!” Scates adds.

True North Cherry Cheesecake ice creamHannah Elliott/Central Smith Ice cream

Algonquin Canoe ice creamHannah Elliott/Central Smith Ice cream

Monster Cookie ice creamHannah Elliott/Central Smith Ice cream

One of this summer’s runaway hits is True North Cherry Cheesecake, inspired by a patriotic surge after U.S. tariffs hit Canadian goods.

Other favourites include Algonquin Canoe (a nod to a beloved Canadian past time), Monster Cookie (a vibrant blue creation, with cookie chunks, made to cheer kids up during COVID), and this year’s hits, Lavender Lemonade (a blend of Scates’s favourite things) and Grand Slam (daughter Jillian’s homage to the Snickers chocolate bar).

And then there are the … let’s say, experimental flavours.

“The craziest one we’ve done was a limited-time offer for a hot dog festival in Toronto. Shopsy’s asked us to create a vanilla ice cream with yellow mustard ripple and chunks of their hot dogs,” Scates says. “Can’t say I would recommend that one!”

Central Smith’s success is not based solely on their ice cream. Brenda Coletta, owner of the Parlour in Thornton, Ont., says what makes the company special is their willingness to look after customers.

“When I opened by business eight years ago, I called a big-name Canadian ice cream manufacturer and they basically told me to get lost,” says Coletta, who operates her business out of a Victorian century home painted purple, pink and bright green. “Central Smith, on the other hand, had our backs from the start.”

“We wouldn’t be as successful as we are today, if it wasn’t for them,” says Coletta. At first, she struggled to sell Central Smith’s 10-tub minimum a week. Now she flies through more than 100 tubs with ease.

For Coletta, selling ice cream is about more than profit margins – it’s about making memories.

“We’re in the nostalgia business. Ice cream reminds people of their parents, of their grandparents, and those special outings they had as children growing up,” she says.

“In a world that feels a little short on love and feel-good moments, ice cream brings people joy,” adds Coletta. “And Central Smith made us part of their family so we can help deliver that.”