Kroger's free ice cream deal was not offered in Kentucky. here's why

The offer of free ice cream to celebrate the first day of summer didn’t last long. But that hasn’t happened at all for shoppers in some states, including Kentucky.

The grocery company celebrated the summer solstice Thursday by giving away 45,000 pints of Kroger-brand ice cream across its family of 11 store brands. The digital coupons went live on freekrogericecream.com at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, and by 10:15 a.m. they were all claimed.

The ice gift amounts to 50 pints of ice per minute of sunlight during the summer solstice. The lucky ones who collected the coupons have until July 3 to redeem them.

Previously: Free Kroger ice cream coupons sold out in two hours

Which states didn’t have Kroger’s free ice cream offer?

The deal did not include people living in several states, including Kentucky, where the offer was not valid. Other states not included were Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. An initial list was slightly different, listing California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nevada, Tennessee and Virginia as ineligible.

A company spokeswoman told IndyStar that the list of exempt states changed when the promotion rolled out and that “while all stores in the Kroger family would like to participate in this offer, the law in some states, like Kentucky, prohibits the sale of products below cost.” , so this specific promotion cannot be offered in stores there.

Summer solstice: Happy first day of summer! Celebrate with offers and sales

Kentucky Revised Statute 365.030 states that “the sale at less than cost or the donation of a product intended to destroy competition is prohibited.”

The company did not explain why Missouri, Mississippi and Nevada were initially on the list of exempt states but were included in the promotion Thursday.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at [email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X: @cherylvjackson.