What Ever Happened to the Iconic Schwan’s Home Food Delivery Trucks?

In the ever-changing landscape of food delivery services, Schwan’s, a once-familiar name in frozen food delivery, was perhaps the first chain food delivery service that most of us became familiar with many years ago. The iconic yellow trucks became synonymous with bringing a wide array of frozen foods, from ice cream to savory meals, right to the homes of families across the United States. If you haven’t noticed, it has probably been quite a while since you have seen the “Schwan’s Man” driving down your road. So where have the iconic yellow trucks gone?

1952 Schwan’s Truck Photo by Schwan’s

Before we go there, let’s take a look at the humble beginnings of this family business. We learned from the Schwan’s website that 23-year-old Marvin Schwan packed his beat-up 1946 Dodge panel van with 14 gallons of his family’s signature ice cream and delivered it to rural families in western Minnesota. At the end of that historic trip, all 14 gallons were sold and the Schwan’s home-delivery business was born in March of 1952. That must have been some really good ice cream! The following year Marvin buys his first refrigerated vehicle, a three-quarter-ton Ford. In his second year of business, Marvin was selling about 120 gallons of ice cream per day. Marvin also hires his company’s first “career” route salesman.