For now Blue Bell is producing five flavors of ice cream in the half gallon and pint sizes.

BRENHAM, TEXAS — Blue Bell Ice Cream said it will begin phase three of its five phase market re-entry plan on Dec. 14. Phase three includes the remaining majority of Texas and central and southern Alabama.

Dickson, v.p. of sales and marketing for Blue Bell

“We continue to fill stores in phase two, but we can now focus our attention on the addition of phase three beginning Dec. 14,” said Ricky Dickson, vice-president of sales and marketing for Blue Bell. “This phase includes most of Alabama and Texas, and it is our largest phase so far.”

To begin phase three, Blue Bell said it will bring back 215 of its employees who were put on paid furlough earlier this year.

Blue Bell has moved steadily to reintroduce products during each phase, building up its inventory before it begins to service a new area.

“Our Broken Arrow (Oklahoma) and Sylacauga (Alabama) production facilities have been in operation for several months now allowing us to build our inventory,” Mr. Dickson said. “And, we look to have our Brenham facility back in operation soon. We want to make sure that we can properly service each account with an adequate supply of products before moving to the next phase.”

For now Blue Bell is producing five flavors of ice cream in the half gallon and pint sizes: buttered pecan, cookies ’n cream, Dutch chocolate, homemade vanilla and The Great Divide. More flavors will be added in the future. 12-pak homemade vanilla cups and 12-pak homemade vanilla and Dutch chocolate cups are also available in stores.

 “We are excited to announce phase three today and look forward to releasing the dates for the remaining two phases,” Mr. Dickson said. “We understand it has taken time to get our products back in stores and we greatly appreciate the patience and support of our customers.”