Vegan ice cream purveyor Frozen Fruit Co. fits right in on trendy, health-conscious Montana Avenue.
Co-founders Victoria and Michael Philippou serve frozen desserts made from three to five ingredients in a small, bright purple store at 729 Montana Ave. Since the store opened three years ago, Frozen Fruit Co. has expanded to a food truck — LA’s first vegan ice cream truck — and in March began selling pints of its most popular flavors at Erewhon, which include chocolate and passion fruit.
But although Frozen Fruit Co. could serve as a symbol of Santa Monica’s healthy food scene, it originated half a world away.
The Philippous began making ice cream in 2012 after quitting their jobs at a law firm in London. While they started gaining momentum in British grocery stores, they knew sunny Los Angeles would be the ultimate market for their plant-based pints.
“We were treating the misery of being lawyers with ice cream, but we always felt a bit meh after a whole pint and we didn’t like eating something with such a long ingredient list,” Michael said. “We thought, why isn’t there an ice cream with super simple ingredients that you can eat a whole pint of and still feel good after?”
The couple had no idea how to make ice cream. Michael said industry professionals told them it would be impossible to make ice cream purely out of fruit, but they started researching, taking classes and making samples, eventually trading their law office for a small production facility.
After a few years of growth in the United Kingdom, the couple came to a crossroads, Michael said.
“We thought, maybe the market for this is in LA, because the weather is better and the food market here is so innovative,” he said. “We had to decide whether to invest in our business in the UK or move here.”
The couple decided to sell their house in London, applied for visas and began scouting locations in Los Angeles. In July 2016, they opened Frozen Fruit Co. in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica has many artisanal ice cream parlors, many of which have vegan options and some that are dairy-free altogether. But Victoria said she believed that Frozen Fruit Co.’s ingredients would help it stand out in a crowded market.
Most vegan products starts with a base like almond milk, banana or avocado, to which flavoring is added, she said. Frozen Fruit Co. uses three to five different ingredients in each flavor, including sweeteners like date and peach sugars, and does not add water to them so they retain a rich, intense flavor.
“With mainstream non-dairy ice cream brands, the only difference from regular ice cream is that it’s non-dairy,” Victoria said.
Michael said the company markets its $6.99 pints by displaying the full list of ingredients on the front of the packaging.
“No one else in the ice cream aisle does that, because most of them include xanthan gum, alcohol sugars, Stevia, stuff like that,” he said. “We find that message really resonates with customers.”
The Philippous plan to launch additional flavors of their pints and start selling them in Whole Foods, Sprouts and Gelson’s. From there, they said they hope to expand across the United States and are looking for partners and investors to join the business.
They added they still plan to keep their store and truck up and running, too.
“It really helps to have direct customer contact,” Victoria said. “Their feedback is great for knowing what to launch next and what marketing works best. We feel that’s really important because a lot of businesses don’t have that connection to customers.”
madeleine@smdp.com
