It’s been a tough few years for many popular food brands, with names like Red Lobster and other popular restaurant chains going bankrupt, but for once, there is some good news. A beloved local California ice cream brand was just rescued from an uncertain bankruptcy future. If you don’t live on the West Coast, you may not have heard of it, but for Californians, the news that Thrifty Ice Cream might disappear came as a devastating shock. Known as a surprisingly good ice cream brand despite its affordable price, many people in the Golden State have fond childhood memories of the simple, tasty ice creams and cones offered by Thrifty. However, the brand was acquired by Rite Aid in 1996 and was primarily available through its stores since. Then, back in 2023, Rite Aid declared bankruptcy. This has led to over 1,000 stores closing in the past few years, and the survival of subsidiaries like Thrifty had been in doubt.
At least, that was the case until some unexpected white knights came riding in to save the brand: a company called Hilrod Holdings. Hilrod is owned by Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg, the two men who founded Monster Energy Drinks. Yes, the energy drink brand known for its tallboy cans with the aggressively edgy designs is responsible for the survival of a wholesome budget ice cream that used to be sold at soda fountains. Hilrod Holdings reportedly paid $19 million for Thrifty, which includes all of the brand’s production and transportation equipment as well.
The owners of Monster Energy have bought Thrifty Ice Cream from a bankrupt Rite Aid
Thrifty Ice Cream was founded all the way back in 1940 in West Hollywood. Like its eventual Rite-Aid owners, Thrifty was originally a drug store called Thrifty Cut Rate Drug Stores. Originally, the owners bought ice cream for their soda fountains from vendors, but as the business expanded the owners decided to start making their ice cream in-house. The first three flavors? Rocky road, and two much less common ones: fruitcake and grape pineapple. The brand opened an ice cream factory in nearby El Monte, California in 1976, which is still in operation today.
Thrifty is known for its low prices — a scoop used to sell for five cents in the ’80s and still goes for less than three dollars today. At scoop shops, it is also instantly identifiable by its signature barrel-shaped scoops, which wereintroduced in the ’50s to ensure uniform servings. By the ’70s Thrifty was a well-loved brand across California.
The Monster Energy founders and Hilrod Holdings have not yet commented on the recent acquisition, so the actual future planned for Thrifty is still uncertain. But even so, things look much brighter for Thrifty than they did just a few weeks ago. So while many of your favorite brands are struggling, there is hope for some that still have devoted followings like Thrifty. And hey, maybe the world will get some Monster Energy Assault flavored ice cream out of it too.
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