Scooping Success: The Business of Ice Cream in Michigan with Cream & Sugar, Love's, and Moomer's

Did you know July is National Ice Cream month? In this episode, Will sits down with three ice cream connoisseurs of Michigan to discuss how they make their business as sweet as can be.Tim Mangan of Michigan Cream & Sugar Ice Cream Company in Bay City discusses moving from creating menus at Horizons Conference Center to managing their new ice cream shop in the midst of the pandemic. Cream & Sugar is known for sourcing Michigan ingredients, ranging from sugar made by Michigan Sugar Company to carrots for a carrot cake flavor from Cherry Capital Foods in Traverse City. During Tim’s off-season, he spends his time crafting recipes for the upcoming season and training new staff. His secret to making his business so well-liked is keeping his staff happy, which in turn makes the guests happy. Cream & Sugar recently received a grant to open a second location in Old Town Saginaw!Chris McKellar of Love’s Ice Cream & Chocolate in Grand Rapids tells his tale of starting as a performer to e-commerce to finding a passion in cooking and recipe-development. When this “love” sparked, he sold his e-commerce company to a competitor and opened Love’s. It started small, but eventually became big enough to ship their products internationally. Love’s also offers gluten and dairy free options to reach a broader range of ice cream lovers. Jon Plummer of Moomer’s Homemade Ice Cream in Traverse City tells how Moomer’s operates an 80-acre dairy farm right next to their ice cream parlor - you can see the cows that potentially made the milk in your ice cream. Moomer’s likes to experiment with flavors and products, ranging from eggnog in July to asparagus ice cream (which didn’t get as much buzz as eggnog). Back in 2008, Good Morning America had a “Best Scoop Shop” competition in which Moomer’s was voted the best shop in the nation! They celebrated by inviting customers to come out for free ice cream early in the morning for the GMA taping!Connect with these sweet businesses here or by stopping in:Michigan Cream & Sugar Ice Cream CompanyLove's Ice Cream & ChocolateLove's Ice Cream & Chocolate | FacebookMoomer's Homemade Ice Cream