The scoop on why Chapman’s is Canada’s favourite freezer staple

The thread quickly filled with suggestions. Canadians named everything from clothing companies to grocery staples. But one brand kept popping up again and again in the comments.

Chapman’s ice cream.

“Chapman’s,” one user replied simply. That was it. That was their entire response.

Another commenter was a bit more pointed: “Once I found out about this company years ago I never bought another brand.”

The enthusiasm quickly turned into something deeper. Commenters began sharing stories about the family-owned company behind the ice cream. Stories about how it treats workers, supports its community and keeps its products affordable.

For many Canadians, Chapman’s isn’t just a freezer staple.

It is a company people feel good about supporting. And it is uniquely Canadian.

The fire that shaped the company’s reputation

One story in particular kept coming up in the Reddit thread: the fire that nearly wiped the company out.

In September 2009, a welding spark ignited a massive blaze that destroyed the main production plant at Chapman's Ice Cream in Markdale, Ontario. The fire levelled the 90,000-square-foot facility and temporarily halted production at what was already one of Canada’s largest independent ice cream manufacturers.

For a small rural community, the stakes were high. The plant was one of the area’s biggest employers.

Instead of laying off staff, the Chapman family kept paying employees while the company rebuilt. Insurance helped cover wages for many workers during the shutdown, allowing the company to maintain pay for months as reconstruction began.

The decision has become part of Canadian business lore.

“When their production plant burned down in Markdale the family continued to pay their workers while the new facility was being built,” one Reddit user wrote in the brand loyalty thread.

Within weeks the company restarted limited production from temporary facilities. A new, larger plant eventually rose on the same site.

The company never left Markdale.

A family business that stayed rooted

That decision to rebuild in a town of barely a few thousand residents helped cement Chapman’s reputation.

The company traces its roots back to 1973, when David and Penny Chapman purchased a small creamery in Markdale and began producing ice cream with just a handful of employees. Over the decades the business expanded into a national brand while remaining family owned.

Today Chapman’s is the largest independent ice cream manufacturer in Canada and one of the biggest employers in the region.

But despite that growth, production remains centred in the same rural community where the company started.

That kind of loyalty resonates with many Canadians.

“They stayed in their town instead of moving production somewhere cheaper,” one Reddit commenter wrote.

In an era when many companies move factories across borders or overseas, the idea of a growing national brand staying rooted in a small Ontario town tugs at our Canadian heartstrings.

More than just ice cream

The company’s reputation for treating workers well isn’t just part of Chapman’s origin story.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapman’s didn’t cut their staff. In fact, they did the exact opposite. In response to the coronavirus shutdown, the company instead introduced a temporary $2-per-hour wage increase for production and distribution workers. The company later made the raise permanent.

It is another example that Redditors returned to when explaining their loyalty to the Canadian brand.

“They seem like the kind of company you want to support,” one commenter wrote.

Those kinds of decisions help build something that is difficult for companies to manufacture through marketing alone: trust.

The freezer aisle math

Of course, goodwill alone does not fill shopping carts. The product still has to be good and the price has to make sense.

Chapman’s has long focused on value. The company is known for its large 2-litre tubs, which often cost roughly the same as smaller premium pints from international brands.

Reddit users were quick to highlight the difference.

“Häagen-Dazs 450 ml equals about $7. Ben & Jerry’s 450 ml equals about $7. Chapman’s two litres equals about $7,” one commenter wrote. “‘Nuff said.”