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was acquired in 1996 by HJ Heinz. This was their first foray into the frozen world. There was plenty of discouragement from others in the $10-billion industry saying it couldn't be done. Trying to cram six grams of protein into ice cream while ending up with 25 percent fewer calories, half the total fat, and 65 percent less saturated fat than comparable "super premium f lavors" seemed like a stretch to many of his peers, Arnie concedes. "Most ice-cream makers think it requires a certain range of sweet and salt and if you go beyond that, you don't get a satisfactory product," Arnie offered. "Our mixing process, the order in which things are mixed, how things come together, is very specialized, as is how we process what we mix together, and when. It's all about timing. There are a lot of ways to do it and not be successful." The man speaks from experience. He and his brother had one disappointment after another since they started trying to make their healthier ice cream in 2006. They spent more than two years making something that tasted like vitamins, or was gray, or had a weird tex- ture, and couldn't be called ice cream. But then things began to turn around. A Breakthrough The team started making discoveries about what worked better in the process—when to mix what and how. They created their all-natural, patented sweetener blend and began making it in a standard manufacturing facility with standard ice cream-making equipment. Their idea was finally becoming the product they had envisioned. "Ice cream can't be something that's just OK," Arnie says. "People really want the pleasure of ice cream when they indulge." With that in mind, for their first ice cream, they teamed with a former Ben & Jerry's f lavor developer and a group of dieticians, as Arnie says, "to transform ice cream into a smart food choice." He thinks it can be substituted as a healthy post-workout snack. "It's a smart food choice if you're missing a meal or for people who need extra nutrition," he adds. "Brio delivers, ounce for ounce, more nutrition than other liquid nutritional products like Ensure or Boost. This is expanding the eating occasions for ice cream." Currently, the ice cream is available in five f lavors including Coffee Latte, Mellow Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Caramel, Tropical Mango, and Spring Strawberry. The Future Messaging is Brio's biggest challenge. The company, which currently has 10 employees, wants to change the traditional story of the ice-cream sector from something that you should only eat on occasion to something that tastes good and is actually pretty good for you. "At this point, there's a long history of major ice-cream companies trying to develop primarily new f lavors," Arnie muses. "Others have more protein or are low in calories. There's nothing new about that, and they've been around forever. Brio, I think, will get the attention of the largest companies in the world." But, he added, he's not looking at selling the business at all. "That would be a distraction." LEAGUE OF KITCHENS: CREATING CULINARY CONNECTIONS L isa Gross is known in New York City for the unique, multicul- tural food classes her company, League of Kitchens, operates. She connects outgoing immigrants—who are all excellent home cooks—with students wanting to learn to cook particular ethnic dishes. Along the way, she's also spreading authentic culinary cul- tural knowledge to new people. After her Korean grandmother died, Gross realized that she knew no one who could teach her how to make the food she loved as a child. Her mother emigrated from Korea in the 1970s and, after Gross was born, her maternal grandmother came to the U.S. to be closer to the family and help take care of the baby. She also prepared the meals for the family, so Gross and her mother never really learned her cooking techniques and traditions. After her grandmother passed away, Gross tried to make some of those Korean meals she remembered, but it was never the same. "I remember thinking that I wished there was another Korean grandmother I could learn from," she says. Packed with protein and nutrients, Brio is expanding the eating occasions for ice cream. A talented home chef invites up to six people into her home to teach some essentials of her native cuisine. Everyone cooks and eats together. 46 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com