In 2007, two friends joined forces to create the best quality ice cream with the best quality ingredients. Alexis Gallivan and Jennie Dundas came together to offer a product that made tastebuds happy and hearts feel good. They dubbed it, Blue Marble Ice Cream.
We had a chance to speak with the duo for our ongoing Fuel Your Mission series featuring entrepreneurs.
How do you go about sourcing organic dairy?
This has certainly been a challenge at times, but like most things in business, it’s all about relationships. We’ve seen several dairy options come and go, but we are proud to have built a great partnership with a cooperative of family farms that has been there for us through thick and thin.
Whats your top selling flavor? Any new flavors in the pipeline?
When we sell in supermarkets, the winning flavor is tied between Organic Vanilla and Organic Cookies & Cream. Our ice cream is so rich and not overly sweet, so these simple flavors are greatly appreciated for their purity and old fashioned indulgence. In our scoop shops, we can get a bit more creative… we launched two new flavors recently that are both super popular. “The Blue Marble” is naturally blue colored ice cream with peanut butter and marshmallow swirls — when you scoop it, it looks like planet Earth (our namesake!). “Bread & Roses” is rose ice cream with vanilla shortbread cookies and has been surprisingly popular with old and young alike! This one is named after the iconic poem of the women’s labor movement by James Oppenheim, with the line “We must have bread, but we must have roses, too!” This line resonates for us because it is the founding principal of our non-profit, Blue Marble Dreams, through which we founded two ice cream shops in post-trauma regions, Rwanda and Haiti.
Cone or cup?
Jennie : Haha, my entire childhood, it was cup all the way. I ate slowly and this help avoid a mess. But as a grown-up (if you can call me that!), I can handle a cone — sugar cones are my jam.
Alexis : Cone. Always. Double the treat! Type depends on flavor. If it’s a pretty straightforward flavor, I will go with a sugar cone. For more complex flavors, I usually opt for cake/wafer cones, because they have a neutral taste and won’t compete with the ice cream.
If you could have any celebrity endorse your ice cream… who would it be?
Jennie : Haha that’s a great question… I think it would have to be my hero, Barack Obama! Or, actually, Michelle, cause she’s even cooler.
Alexis : Well, since Jennie went highbrow, I’ll go with Chrissy Teigen. Beyond being impossibly gorgeous, It seems she likes to have fun – which is what ice cream is all about – and loves good food. She ate our ice cream on an MTV show once and loved it – so I think she’d be a great and natural spokeswoman!
What advice would you give other women entrepreneurs who are just starting their business
Jennie : I’d have to say to never underestimate how important your numbers are. If you’re a “creative” and not into numbers, that’s great, but you gotta find someone who IS, and keep them close… 🙂
Alexis : Don’t underestimate how valuable YOU are, either. Women often have a way of neglecting our own needs, accepting less than we’re worth and putting everyone else first. Stand firm in your value and work your butt off to make what you deserve.
1 comment
I love CT! I love how she stands up for women and women’s sense of self and I think she represents positive self body image and women should be okay with eating ice cream! It reminds me of that scene in Someone Like You when Ashley Judd’s monologue to Hugh Jackman is about a woman who was inexplicably hungry after having been to dinner, eating ice cream out of the container.