New Creamery website means treats a click away

For most of the Penn State Berkey Creamery’s history, customer orders likely were placed by spoken word or by pen and paper, and local deliveries came via horse-drawn wagon and later milk truck. But as the iconic dairy plant celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, its geographically dispersed fans now have an ordering tool and fulfillment system befitting a contemporary, 21st-century retail operation.

A newly launched website, creamery.psu.edu, powered by a sophisticated e-commerce platform, allows customers to have the taste of Penn State delivered to their door. The new site gives creamery enthusiasts access to a range of products — including, of course, world-famous Berkey Creamery ice cream — and various shipping options, according to manager Tom Palchak.

“The new site gives Penn Staters anywhere in the country an opportunity to enjoy the creamery products they love but perhaps haven’t been able to get because they don’t live in the area,” Palchak said. “It really takes our customer service to a new level.”

Although the creamery previously had a more rudimentary online ordering system, the new site offers several previously unavailable features, Palchak noted, so customers can:

• Create accounts that enable them to save their information, reorder easily, check order status and provide user reviews of products.
• See what ice cream flavors and other products are in stock and get email alerts as products become available.
• Sign up for email updates, including new flavor notifications and other news.
• Create their own ice cream coolers, cheeses boxes and coffee boxes.
• Get real-time quotes for affordable shipping and have orders shipped to multiple locations with just one payment.

“We deliver anywhere in the continental United States, with ground shipping available to most of the East Coast, so shipping is more affordable than ever before,” Palchak said.