How Coolhaus Changed the Ice Cream World

When Coolhaus launched their Dessert Island collection this July Natasha Case, the legendary dessert brand’s CEO and Co-founder, described it to me as a manifestation of the emotional experiences we have with food. Experience is the perfect word to represent Coolhaus where the Los Angeles based team is revolutionizing the ice cream industry with flavors like Browned Butter Candy Bacon, Netflix Ice Cream, and Whiskey Lucky Charms.

While the surprise and delight of the team’s flavors continue to earn the brand a band of loyal followers, their community building efforts and upbeat personality have made the most meaningful impact on becoming a household name. Each ice cream sammie, as the team calls them, is a story you want to share with your friends.

Things that are exciting and fun should be easy and accessible. Nothing should be intimidating and no one should feel like an outsider.

The sentiment’s carried Natasha from the the company’s founding days at Coachella, where the brand went viral, to being sold in over 5,000 retailers around the world. An ice cream concept that was intended to remove the intimidation of the architecture world (Natasha started her career as a Disney imagineer) evolved into a much deeper mission that inspires celebration, community, and optimism.

Along with developing phenomenal flavors (looking at you Buttermilk Biscuits and Strawberry), Natasha’s learned a tremendous amount of lessons about how to scale a global food brand. She breaks them down for us in today’s episode of The Peaks.

Here’s a glimpse of what we discuss:

• Why you should say yes to all media opportunities, no matter how small; “Always give everyone an equal chance.”
• How to harness social media to communicate with and understand your consumers; “Put your pride aside and just listen.”
• Each step of Coolhaus’ scaling process — From their second truck to being sold in places like Bahrain and Qatar
• Navigating the grocery world, Coolhaus’ first 100 stores, and determining the right markets to expand to
• Natasha’s efforts building Coolhaus’ sales team; “If the sales aren’t happening it’s not a business it’s a hobby.”

All images retrieved from Coolhaus’ Instagram.