After more than seven decades of delivering food to American households, the company formerly known as Schwan’s is ceasing operations. Yelloh, as the business has been called since rebranding, announced on Monday that it will permanently shut down in November, bringing an end to 72 years of home delivery service.
The closure comes after a year of significant downsizing, including multiple facility closures and workforce reductions. Despite these efforts, the company cited “insurmountable business challenges” as the reason for its ultimate demise.
Board member Michael Ziebell highlighted several factors contributing to Yelloh’s closure, including staffing difficulties and supply chain disruptions stemming from the pandemic. He also noted that changing consumer habits and competitive pressures had been building for over two decades, making success increasingly challenging.
While the Schwan’s name continues in the frozen food sector following its $1.8 billion acquisition by a South Korean firm in 2019, the visible home delivery arm based in Bloomington, Minnesota, will soon become a part of the state’s history.
Yelloh’s struggle to adapt to modern consumer preferences played a significant role in its downfall. As on-demand delivery services like DoorDash and Shipt gained popularity, Yelloh’s route-based model became outdated. Ziebell acknowledged that digital shopping has replaced the personal, door-to-door interactions that were once the company’s hallmark.
The closure will result in job losses for approximately 1,100 employees nationwide, including 176 in Minnesota. Layoffs are set to begin on November 22 as locations across the state shut down.
CEO Bernardo Santana expressed the difficulty of the decision, thanking loyal customers and hardworking employees for their support over the years.
This announcement follows a series of cutbacks by the company. In the past year, Yelloh closed 90 delivery centers and laid off 750 people, with additional closures and layoffs occurring this spring.
The company’s history dates back to March 18, 1952, when 23-year-old Marvin Schwan first delivered 14 gallons of ice cream to families in Marshall, western Minnesota. Over the following decades, the business expanded nationwide, with its iconic yellow trucks becoming a familiar sight from coast to coast.
However, the rise of e-commerce in recent years posed significant challenges for Yelloh. The company’s limited product range and lack of innovation left it struggling to compete with more agile digital competitors.
For many Minnesotans, the yellow Schwan’s trucks driving through neighborhoods, delivering ice cream and steaks directly to homes, are a nostalgic memory from an era predating services like Instacart and Amazon. While these memories will endure, the fleet itself is now retiring.
The closure of Yelloh marks the end of an era in Minnesota business history. Much like the transition from milkman deliveries to purchasing milk in grocery stores, the shift in consumer behavior towards on-demand digital services has rendered Yelloh’s traditional delivery model obsolete.
As the company prepares to close its doors, it joins other bygone Minnesota institutions, such as Camp Snoopy, in the annals of state history. The yellow trucks that once symbolized convenience and reliability will soon disappear from American roads, leaving behind a legacy of home delivery that spanned nearly three-quarters of a century.