This is the story of how an ice cream startup turned into a mission.

When we started our little ice cream business a few years ago, we had no idea what it would turn into. 

All we wanted was to work together in our old age, nothing more.  We knew that most small business startups failed, but we had faith in our product and in ourselves, as well as the requisite “passion.”

We did not count on tears.

Originally, we wanted to make regular old dairy based ice cream. Right away, we ran headlong into regulation, inspection, bacteria testing, and the high cost of the “mix” used to make the product. So, we decided to concentrate our efforts on making the best, freshest sorbets and ices possible.  Strawberry, Mixed Berry, Lemon Basil Mint, Lime Ginger, and more than a dozen other flavors. Turns out that frozen fruit is a much better choice for us than fresh. Supermarket fruit is picked and shipped while still green, packed in nitrogen, and hopefully arrive ripe. Frozen fruit is picked daily at the peak of flavor and freshness, then flash frozen within hours. We happily discovered that Trader Joe’s has the best frozen fruit around.  The results were fabulous and the response tremendous.  We had loads of customers fall in love with Townie sorbets and ices, and just about everyone found a flavor they enjoyed.  People with allergies of all sorts and those who chose a vegan diet could once again indulge in frozen desserts.

Soon thereafter, Emery Thompson, the wonderful company who manufactures the best All American Made frozen dessert machines in the world, discovered a company in the Midwest, Mami’s Gelato, who were manufacturing a vegan, coconut ice cream mix.  We sent for two sample bags – one plain and one chocolate.  We made Key Lime Vegan Ice Cream and Chocolate Vegan Ice Cream and tested them on the crowd at our town’s Endless Summer Waterfront Festival at Nantasket Beach.  They sold out almost immediately! 

Along the way, strange and wonderful things began to happen. We sold everything we made, as fast as we could make it. We signed up for farmers markets – 4,5,6 a week during the summer. Our inventory flew out and our customer base grew and grew. Soon we had long lines at our little cart and began seeing familiar faces everywhere we went. Our customers had story after story of allergies and lactose intolerance who were delighted by our non-dairy, nut free, vegan selections.  We were almost evangelical with our conversion of folks who were otherwise carnivorous, and everyone loved our “no compromise” frozen deliciousness. You didn’t need to be vegan to enjoy a vegan product. Another wonderful side effect came about when we noticed the sheer number of folks with allergies. It seemed that many families had at least one member who could not tolerate dairy ice cream.

Remember the part about tears?

We had a customer try our Chocolate Oreo Cookie non-dairy ice cream. She took a bite and got very quiet. She then tried to speak and choked up. Then, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Turns out she had not had ice cream in 13 years due to a late onset lactose intolerance. Yes, this was her first ice cream in 13 years.

You would cry, too.

Then, there is the “Grandpa Story.” One sunny afternoon at the Plymouth Farmers Market, we had a nice older man with his brood of grandkids. It seemed that every one of them had an allergy of some sort. One was Lactose intolerant – check. Another was allergic to peanuts – good to go there. No eggs allowed – no problem. He turned to the kids and said, “OK kids, everybody can get whatever they want!” We served them up, and they went to sit on the grass and enjoy their ice creams.  The man came back and thanked us - three times! The third time, he gave a two-handed handshake to Stephen and told us, with tears in his eyes, that this was the first time he was able to take all his grandchildren out for ice cream at the same time.

That was the moment when a passion became a mission.

We have since had two more people visibly choke up with emotion, and a young couple decided that our Grapefruit Sorbet would be the very first bit of food (that did not come from mama) that their little baby would have. We were honored. By the way, she loved it!

So, this is the story of how a passion turned into a mission. On the horizon is a Kickstarter Campaign, a Nut-Free Kitchen, wholesale sales, and shipping of our products to all 50 states.

Happy New Year, 2020!