Innovative ice cream maker knows when to grow and what trends to follow

In Northern Utah’s fertile Cache Valley, the dairy industry is serious business. And no one takes it more seriously than CEO Paul Casper Merrill of Casper’s Fat Boy Premium Ice Cream. He loves the company, has fun running it and, for the past decade, expanding it. Fat Boy is a national brand now, available from Alaska to Miami in more than 6,000 retail locations, including numerous grocery store chains, Costco Warehouses and convenience stores. 

Earlier this year, Merrill was selected as the 2018 Small Business Administration Utah Small Business Person of the Year.  National SBA Administrator Linda McMahon announced the 52 Small Business Person of the Year state and territorial winners, inviting the recipients to Washington, D.C., to participate in events and ceremonies April 29-30. Merrill is planning to attend the event in Washington and said he is looking forward to it. 

“My goal is to help more of our nation’s small-business owners be aware of the resources available to them through the SBA. We want more entrepreneurs to think of the SBA as the go-to resource for access to capital, valuable resources, business know-how and the right expertise for each stage of their business lifecycle. That’s how we can continue to help power the engine of our economy,” McMahon said.

Merrill is the grandson of the founder, Casper Merrill. Paul Merrill began his career as an 8-year-old sales rep for Casper’s Fat Boy, going door to door in the summer until he was old enough to work in production, which he did when he turned 13. He worked through college, graduating from Utah State University in 1993 with a bachelor of science in marketing education.

Merrill has since spent time working in each major division of the company, assuming control of the company in 2002 as president and CEO, overseeing all operations.

When Merrill started running Casper’s, he set a goal to grow to $20 million in annual revenue by 2020. Casper’s grew from $6 million in the late 1990s to $12 million annual revenue in 2012. In 2014, six years earlier than expected, Casper’s passed the $20 million goal.

As the top executive of one of the largest employers in the county, Merrill is passionate about containing the rising cost of healthcare for his employees and the larger community. He advocated a new healthcare model in Cache Valley, and has committed his time and resources into developing that and improving local healthcare.

Mountain West Small Business Finance nominated Merrill for the SBA Utah Small Business Person of the Year Award, and Merrill was selected by a panel earlier this year. “Paul comes from a long line of ice cream innovators, who started the company in 1925. Fat Boy has stayed competitive throughout the years by obsessively improving its manufacturing processes,” said John Evans, president of Mountain West.

To that end, Fat Boy has obtained three SBA 504 loans. The first was an expansion refinance, leveraging equity in their existing building, to help finance a second building that accommodated their rapid growth. The second and third SBA 504 loans were used to expand and enhance the manufacturing equipment lines. Merrill has kept his eye on running a sustainable business, choosing to purchase heavy duty equipment with extended life expectancies of over 20 years.

With each of these SBA loans, Casper’s has been able to meet strategic objectives, including expanded production, white-label contracts and co-packing. Diversifying into different production lines has allowed Casper’s to not only increase revenue, but also helps them avoid putting too much of their business into one bucket.

Casper’s Ice Cream, doing business as Fat Boy Ice Cream, is now one of the nation’s largest producers of ice cream sandwiches and bars, producing up to 450 bars per minute in their 129,000-square-foot facility.

Casper’s Ice Cream has three main products under the Fat Boy label: ice cream sandwiches, Casco Sundae Bars on a stick and Push Pops. Over the past few years, Fat Boy has also started manufacturing ice cream for additional private labels: Red Button Ice Cream (Associated Foods), Jolly Llama Push Pops, Yasso Yogurt Bars and Mad Minis (miniature ice cream sandwiches).

Fat Boy Ice Cream has a strong regional presence on the West Coast as a favorite for fundraising, providing a revenue source for clubs, teams, nonprofits and other groups.

Casper’s is one of the largest employers in Northern Utah’s Cache Valley and Merrill has used his time and notoriety to tackle the issue of rising healthcare costs, one of the chief concerns raised by his employees over the years. The result has been his investment into Sterling Medical, a new urgent care and medical management company. Merrill is on the board and participates in meetings with other business owners to demonstrate the savings for companies and individuals when they become members of Sterling. All of Casper’s employees have access to the clinic for a low monthly cost that covers all expenses incurred at the clinic if they should need to visit. Merrill understands that the health of his employees — and of the rest of the community — is paramount, which is why he spends so much of his time helping to keep healthcare costs down.

Merrill serves as a board member for the AMK Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded to help provide support for children with disabilities. He and AMK have directed over $300,000 in funds to Shriners Hospital to help fund the Prosthetic and Wheelchair departments. He has helped approve donations to a local ski resort to help Common Ground Outdoor Adventures build a disability facility so that skiing and other outdoor activities are accessible.