In 1978, the Falk Sisters sold the company to a family five miles away in Shenandoah, Iowa where the secret recipe was made in small batches until it was sold to a Red Oak, Iowa family in 1985.
The tradition was carried on until it was once again sold to the Williams family in Malvern, Iowa where they decided to package the growing popularity of the brand in cartons, to better meet the demand and placed it in thirty-five stores in Southwest Iowa. Their 40-quart batch freezer, and hand-filled cartons of Lemon Custard soon resulted in the Williams family being unable to supply that demand, and the legendary Bill Lambert, a world-renowned ice cream consultant from Des Moines was brought in to help them increase their production and add flavors from the original Falk Sisters’ recipes.
Ron Burkle acquired Falk’s Ice Cream in 1999. It was Burkles’ marketing skills and tireless work ethic that resulted in re-packaging and expansion of the brand to placement in over 600 stores in the Midwest. Falk’s was already a household name in Southwest Iowa, but as soon as customers everywhere who were able to purchase it, Falk’s was destined to become a favorite of anyone who could be sure to see it on their grocery store freezer shelves on a regular basis. Burkle got help from Hiland Ice Cream Company in Norfolk Nebraska to produce the quantities that were necessary to supply the demand from those stores on a regular basis. Ron’s success with Falk’s Ice Cream led him into a new career endeavor which he has pursued since he sold Falk’s Ice Cream Company in 2003.
The Bill Horner Family at Red Oak, Iowa, purchased Falk’s Ice Cream Company in 2003, and began producing the product at the new organic dairy processing plant, “Naturally Iowa” in Clarinda, Iowa. Half gallons and 3-gallon tubs were produced there under the guidance of Bill Lambert, until the plant at Naturally Iowa was unable to secure enough milk to continue. In 2020, Bill repackaged the same Falk’s Ice Cream, with the help of the same excellent staff at the Hiland Ice Cream Company in Norfolk, Nebraska, and re-launched the product in nearby Fareway Grocery Stores. The same unique taste has been preserved and protected by each person along the ninety-year progression of the Falk’s brand.
As the hundredth anniversary of Falk’s Ice Cream approaches, history is still being made every day. The same Falk’s Ice Cream product that was created by the Falk Sisters, continues to be the favorite of those who are able to purchase it on a regular basis.
