Rhino Foods

Rhino Foods Incorporated is a privately held specialty food manufacturer headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1981 by Anne and Ted Castle, the company developed from a small frozen-custard shop called Chessy's Frozen Custard into a manufacturing business serving both consumers and other food companies. Its principal activities include producing cookie dough and baked pieces used as inclusions in ice cream, manufacturing ice cream novelties, and co-packing ice cream cookie sandwiches for national and international customers. The company is particularly associated with the Chesster, an ice cream sandwich known in its home market. Rhino Foods also became prominent in the wider ice cream industry through its work with Ben & Jerry's in 1991 to develop cookie dough suitable for incorporation into ice cream. The resulting capability helped establish Rhino Foods as a supplier of cookie dough and baked inclusions to major ice cream brands. Rather than operating primarily as a mass-market consumer label, Rhino Foods combines a local branded presence with business-to-business manufacturing and product-development services. Rhino Foods has also emphasized workplace experimentation and employee-centered management. In 1993, employees developed the Employee Exchange Program to address seasonal fluctuations in staffing. The program allows employees to work temporarily at partner companies experiencing different seasonal labor requirements; one cited example involved Rhino factory workers supporting lip-balm manufacturer Autumn Harp during its holiday period. In 2007, the company introduced an Income Advance Program through a credit-union partner. Eligible employees could receive a same-day advance of up to $1,000, with repayment through payroll deductions and subsequent deductions directed into savings unless the employee opted out. In 2013, Rhino Foods became a certified B Corporation, formally aligning its business practices with the B Corp framework's emphasis on social and environmental performance as well as commercial performance. Ted Castle has connected the company's operating philosophy with open-book management, employee financial participation, workforce development, and community involvement. The company has also been associated with efforts to hire and retain refugees and with employee wellness initiatives developed in cooperation with the United Way. Rhino Foods is best understood as a specialty frozen-dessert and ingredient manufacturer whose competitive position rests on formulation expertise, flexible production, co-packing capability, and long-standing relationships with ice cream companies. Its public profile is strongest in Vermont and among industry customers, while its products and manufacturing services have reached national and international markets through customer brands.

Rhino Foods began in 1981 when Anne and Ted Castle established a small frozen-custard operation in Vermont under the name Chessy's Frozen Custard. The business later developed into Rhino Foods Incorporated, expanding beyond retail frozen desserts into specialty manufacturing for the ice cream sector. This transition gave the company a broader role in product development, ingredient production, and contract manufacturing. A major turning point came in 1991, when Rhino Foods worked with Ben & Jerry's to develop cookie dough designed for use in ice cream. Cookie dough had to be formulated and manufactured in a way that would perform appropriately as an ice cream inclusion, and the collaboration helped create a durable business line for Rhino Foods. The company subsequently produced cookie dough and baked pieces for many major ice cream brands, while also developing co-packing capabilities for ice cream cookie sandwiches and other frozen novelties. As the company grew, it experimented with organizational responses to the seasonal nature of frozen-dessert production. In 1993, Rhino employees held brainstorming sessions after identifying winter reductions in staffing demand. Those discussions led to the Employee Exchange Program, through which employees could be temporarily assigned to partner businesses with contrasting seasonal needs. The program was intended to reduce the negative effects of seasonal employment patterns while giving participating workers additional opportunities. Rhino Foods introduced another employee-oriented initiative in 2007. Its Income Advance Program allowed employees with at least 12 months of service to obtain a short-term advance of up to $1,000 through a credit-union partner. Repayment was made through automatic weekly payroll deductions. Once the advance was repaid, the deductions could continue into an employee savings account unless the employee chose to stop them. The program was designed to provide emergency liquidity while encouraging banking access, credit development, and savings. The company's approach to management has included open-book practices, with financial information and business priorities shared with employees. Ted Castle has also been involved in programs concerning employee wellness, refugee hiring and retention, and community organizations. His outside civic involvement has included child-abuse prevention, Shelburne Farms, the United Way, and Vermont Special Olympics. In 2009, the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility presented Castle with the Terry Ehrich Award for Socially Responsible Business Practices. In 2013, Rhino Foods became a certified B Corporation. This certification marked a formal recognition of the company's effort to evaluate its performance through social and environmental as well as financial criteria. Rhino Foods continued to operate as a privately held specialty manufacturer, with the Chesster remaining its best-known local consumer product and its ingredient and co-packing activities serving a broader set of national and international customers.

• 2013

  Rhino Foods becomes a certified B Corporation

  [1]Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  The company joins the B Corp community, publicly formalizing its emphasis on social and environmental performance alongside business results.

• 2009

  Ted Castle receives social responsibility award

  [1]Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  The Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility presents Ted Castle with the Terry Ehrich Award for Socially Responsible Business Practices.

• 2007

  Income Advance Program begins

  [1]Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  Rhino Foods introduces a credit-union-backed employee advance and savings mechanism for workers with at least one year of service.

• 1993

  Employee Exchange Program is developed

  [1]Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  Employee brainstorming produces a seasonal staffing initiative that enables temporary exchanges between Rhino Foods and partner companies.

• 1991

  Cookie dough collaboration with Ben & Jerry's

  [1]Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  Rhino Foods works with Ben & Jerry's to develop cookie dough suitable for incorporation into ice cream, helping establish its ingredient-manufacturing business.

• 1981

  Rhino Foods is founded

  [1]Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  Anne and Ted Castle establish the business, initially developing from the frozen-custard shop Chessy's Frozen Custard.

A specialty frozen-dessert manufacturer and ingredient partner combining product innovation, flexible co-packing, and employee- and community-oriented business practices.

• Ice cream sandwich

  The Chesster

  The Chesster is Rhino Foods' best-known local consumer offering. It is an ice cream sandwich associated with the company's Vermont origins and its development from Chessy's Frozen Custard. The product represents the consumer-facing side of a company whose larger business is focused on supplying ingredients and manufacturing services to other frozen-dessert brands.

• Ice cream ingredient · 1991

  Cookie dough inclusions

  Rhino Foods manufactures cookie dough formulated for use as an inclusion in ice cream and related frozen desserts. The category grew from the company's 1991 development work with Ben & Jerry's and became one of its principal business lines. Rhino supplies this type of ingredient to major brands in the ice cream industry rather than relying only on sales under its own consumer label.

• Ice cream ingredient

  Baked pieces

  Baked pieces are inclusions produced for use in ice cream and other frozen desserts. They extend Rhino Foods' ingredient capabilities beyond raw or dough-based components and allow customer brands to incorporate textured bakery elements into finished products. The company is described as producing baked pieces for many major ice cream companies.

• Contract-manufactured frozen dessert

  Co-packed ice cream cookie sandwiches

  Rhino Foods co-packs ice cream cookie sandwiches for national and international companies. This offering reflects its role as a manufacturing and fulfillment partner, allowing customer brands to commercialize frozen novelties without necessarily operating their own specialized production lines.

• 2013

  B Corporation certificationStrategy

  Background

  Rhino Foods had developed employee, community, and social-responsibility practices alongside its manufacturing operations.

  Action taken

  The company obtained certification as a B Corporation.

  Aftermath

  Certification positioned Rhino Foods within a business movement that evaluates companies on social and environmental performance as well as commercial performance.

  Source

• 2007

  Introduction of the Income Advance ProgramStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to support employees facing short-term financial needs while encouraging longer-term financial stability.

  Action taken

  Rhino Foods arranged same-day advances of up to $1,000 for eligible employees through a credit-union partner, with repayment through weekly payroll deductions and a savings mechanism after repayment.

  Aftermath

  The initiative was intended to improve employees' access to banking, credit-building, and savings.

  Maximum employee advance. $1,000 (Program introduced in 2007)

  Source

• 1993

  Creation of the Employee Exchange ProgramStrategy

  Background

  Seasonal demand created periods when Rhino Foods needed fewer factory employees during winter.

  Action taken

  The company created a program allowing employees to work temporarily at partner businesses with opposite seasonal staffing needs.

  Aftermath

  The program provided a way to manage seasonal labor demand while giving employees additional work opportunities.

  Source

• 1991

  Development of cookie dough for ice creamProduct launch

  Background

  Rhino Foods sought to expand from frozen-custard and novelty production into specialized ingredients for the ice cream industry.

  Action taken

  The company collaborated with Ben & Jerry's to develop cookie dough suitable for use in ice cream and subsequently built a broader ingredient-manufacturing business.

  Aftermath

  Cookie dough and baked inclusions became central parts of Rhino Foods' business serving major ice cream brands.

  Source

1. 1Rhino Foodsen.wikipedia.org