May 10, 2018
Cult favorite ice cream brand Coolhaus started in a broken down postal truck at the Coachella music festival. While growing their ice cream brand over nearly a decade, Natasha Case and Freya Estreller, have many stories to tell, through marriage, two funding rounds, brick and mortar scoop shops, and fast growth wholesaling around the country. They explain how they’ve stayed true to their quirky past while scaling with manufacturing partners and keeping their marriage intact.
I was curious how they manage to constantly innovate, with such wacky flavors as balsamic fig mascarpone or buttered French toast, while they work with more traditional contract manufacturers to do the production. We get some invaluable tips for working with these co-packers, as they’re called in the food biz. I also wanted to hear their origin story, how their relationship blossomed as their company grew, and how Freya decided to leave the company with Natasha at the helm.
Celebrities like John Legend and Kumail Nanjiani are big fans and are willing to go to the Twitter mat over their product. But although it might seem like Coolhaus has made the big leagues, we hear about some of their challenges behind the scenes; being a founder never stops throwing you curveballs. We get a taste test of some of their most popular flavors, with a big side of great entrepreneurship and leadership advice to go along with it.
For more information, photos, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/natashacase.