(NEXSTAR) – Meal delivery service Yelloh, formerly known as Schwan’s, is going out of business, the Minnesota-based company announced Monday.
After 72 years, the yellow and red trucks will cease delivering the ready-to-heat meals, pizza, ice cream and other sides the company is known for. Operations are expected to end in the next two months, with delivery trucks making their final runs on Nov. 8.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we made the difficult decision to cease operations of Yelloh,” said CEO Bernardo Santana in a news release. “We are thankful to our many loyal customers and hard-working employees for everything they have done to support us.”
The company cited a number of insurmountable challenges to the business, including pandemic-driven staffing shortages and supply chain disruptions.
“These challenges, combined with changing consumer lifestyles and competitive pressures that have been building for over 20 years, made success very difficult,” Michael Ziebell, a board member and 22-year veteran of the company, said in the release. “Digital shopping has replaced the personal, at-the-door customer interaction that was the hallmark of the company.”
In an effort to revamp operations as food delivery options proliferated, Schwan’s rebranded as Yelloh in 2022. The next year Yelloh shuttered roughly 90 delivery centers and laid off 750 employees, according to Nebraska Public Media.
Ziebell said the decision to end operations is “heartbreaking,” adding that “our concern is now for our employees and caring for them as well come to terms with the fact that this business – that served millions of families and provided a livelihood for thousands over decades – has regrettably run its life cycle.”
The company got its start in 1952 when Marvin Schwan started delivery frozen treats to his Minnesota neighbors using a 1940 Dodge panel van.
As of April, Yelloh delivered nationwide via UPS and operated trucks in 18 states, according to Nebraska Public Media: Texas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Vermont and Maine.
