Three years ago, NYC-based Nicole Frankel was struggling to get her daughter to eat nutritious snacks and was constantly seeking creative ways to sneak more fruits and vegetables into her diet.
One day, she put two and two together—literally—when she thought about how her daughter was always bugging her for ice cream. Frankel created Yum Actually, an ice cream that contains a full serving of a fruit or vegetable in each cup.
After two years of developing her product, she launched Yum Actually early 2020. The business grew quickly, and this delicious, one-of-a-kind ice cream is now available in 75 NYC-based stores!
Frankel attributes her success to her own love of ice cream, her determination to find a way to get kids to eat healthy snacks, and a background with various technology startups that gave her the skills set she would need to establish a CPG business.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Yum Actually all about?
Yum Actually has created an ice cream that is both delicious AND nutritious! The main ingredient in our ice cream is either a fruit or a vegetable, and it contains less sugar than other leading ice cream brands. We are both solving the problem of kids not getting enough fruits and veggies in their diets, as well as providing healthier dessert alternatives within a category that is inundated with sugary and artificial treats.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I founded Yum Actually 3 years ago when I was struggling to get enough fruits and veggies into my young daughter’s diet. I then thought of something that I knew she wouldn’t turn down – ice cream – and put two and two together…literally! I began mashing up various fruits and veggies and turning them into nutritious and flavorful ice creams. My daughter initially protested about eating an orange-hued, sweet potato ice cream but after she took one bite, she looked up and yelled, ‘it’s yum actually!”. The business name and concept were subsequently established. We launched our ice cream in retailers early last year and have since grown to serve 75 different retailers in the tri-state area.
How do you plan to grow this company?
We have started out growing the company by targeting retailers in New York City so that we can easily deliver the products ourselves, as well as build good relationships with our accounts, and strong product velocities. We will begin working with a distributor to help with logistics over the next month. Additionally, our ice cream will be available through our website this winter. I think it is important to grow a business slowly. As I always say, small companies = small problems. Big companies = big problems.
What was the biggest problem you encountered with your business and how did you overcome it?
Finding a copacker that would make a somewhat unique ice cream with nonstandard packaging.
We initially found a very small copacker to help us build some inventory, but the production run ended being a disaster and a waste of time and resources. A lot of people would have given up after that, but I took a day or two to regroup and the immediately found another copacker that I am still working with today.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
Designing my own packaging in the beginning instead of investing in an experienced designer or design agency to help me navigate the process. I ended up with a very noticeable typo on my first thousand boxes! I learned that I need to be prepared to hand the reigns over to someone else that can do a better job than I can sometimes.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Our ice cream is the only fruit-first/veggie-first ice cream on the market. Additionally, most pints of ice cream get thrown in the trash before the whole thing is consumed due to ice crystals, but our kid-friendly single serve cups ensure that the ice cream will all be eaten in one sitting!
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
Meditate, every single day. This keeps me grounded, calm, and creative.
Additionally, I push myself out of my comfort zone every single day. At the end of the day, I always ask myself if I did something that scared me that day. If the answer is “no”, then I don’t feel that it’s been a productive day.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
- The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib
- Inspired! By Vik Venkatraman for the basics of starting a food business
- Ramping Your Brand by James Richardson for advice on scaling your business
- Hudson Business Bootcamp is a food business course that covers everything from entrepreneur mindset, to marketing, to compliance and legal.
- Specialty Food Associations offers a plethora of learning courses and seminars for new food businesses
- DISTRO 101 4 week course with CPG expert, Sandra Velasquez
Related Interview: Allan Dib – How to Build a Successful Lifestyle Business
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
That it takes time to build your product, company, and brand. Your product doesn’t get built overnight, and it doesn’t start flying off the shelves as soon as it’s there. This takes time and effort.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Social media! It’s free, and it’s effective, and most importantly you are able to measure its results by the many analytics that are provided.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would put it towards testing the product and soliciting feedback from target users. This is an important step to ensure that the business is viable and that there is real demand for the product. This can be done in many ways such as small focus groups, setting up a table at a market or fair, or sampling at events.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Make sure you are solving a problem or filling a gap in the market. The barrier to enter the market becomes much lower when you can prove to a buyer that your product is truly unique.
What is your favorite quote?
“Action cures fear. Inaction creates terror.”
– Douglas Horton
It’s easy to feel scared and anxious as an entrepreneur, and I find that making myself busy is the best way to cure this.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can visit my company website Yum Actually, find me on social media via Instagram, Company LinkedIn, and Nicole Frankel LinkedIn You can also email nicole.frankel@yumactually.com
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