Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, a leading operator and franchisor serving handcrafted ice cream since 1945, recently announced Jennifer Schuler as its new Chief Executive Officer. Schuler is a highly seasoned executive with extensive marketing and franchise experience. She is taking the helm of a nearly 130-store and growing brand with more than 65 franchisees.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Jennifer to Handel’s. We found her highly relevant and proven capabilities and experience, combined with her strong focus on franchisee success, was a terrific fit for Handel’s. She is a highly talented and people-oriented franchise leader who brings great passion and authenticity to her work, and she had fallen in love with Handel’s Ice Cream before we had even met her!” says Andrew Brennan, Board Member for Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream. “With the ‘#1 Ice Cream on the Planet’ and a very strong and growing group of talented and committed franchisees, we have terrific momentum and a very bright future.”
Prior to Handel’s, Schuler was most recently at Wetzel’s Pretzels, where she spent nine years growing the brand. She first served as Chief Marketing Officer, then as President, and, in the last five years of her tenure, as CEO. During her time as CEO, Wetzel’s grew its store count from 200 to 350 units and average unit volume grew by 24%, just under $1M. As part of her journey at Wetzel’s, Schuler and her husband also became franchisees in the system, purchasing a franchise in Minneapolis, which gave her first-hand experience running a franchise and understanding what tools and support she needed from the franchisor to be successful.
Schuler’s professional marketing career also includes five years as Marketing Manager at General Mills. She also served in senior executive roles for a private equity-backed consumer healthcare company and an education technology start-up.
“As I immerse myself in the brand, I’m truly inspired by its nearly 80-year legacy of consistently delighting guests, while demonstrating phenomenal economics. Handel’s has achieved strong sales performance consistently across 13 states through our franchisees, with the brand performing extraordinarily well in new markets as it grows,” says Jennifer Schuler, CEO for Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream. “It’s an exciting time to be part of this organization as it’s poised for dynamic growth. Rarely do you encounter a brand with such a rich legacy, seamlessly intertwined with an unprecedented opportunity for new franchisees to expand!”
In recent years, Handel’s system sales rose from $29M in 2019 to over $130M expected in 2024. Growth has come through continued success in both existing and new markets, with individual stores growing healthily at the same time as store count has been growing, and customers continuing to fall in love with Handel’s one-of-a-kind ice cream and the friendly and accessible service at our stores.
Handel’s currently operates in 13 states, including recent expansion into South Carolina. The brand opened a flagship store in Clemson, SC earlier this year.
