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Women In Ice Cream 2025

For those unfamiliar with it, Innodelice is a global ecosystem connecting needs and solutions within the frozen dessert industry. With a network of over 85 industry partners worldwide—including brands, manufacturers, distributors, importers, investors, and suppliers of ingredients and packaging—Innodelice fosters collaborations that drive the frozen dessert industry forward.


In honor of this year’s International Women’s Day, we’re handing the reins to Andrea Montreuil, CEO and Founder, for our annual highlight: our cherished Women in Ice Cream article. 


With that, we’ll let Andrea take it from here!


A Word From Our Own Woman in Ice Cream



As Innodelice’s founder and collaborator-in-chief, I have the privilege of researching, discussing, and, yes, tasting ice cream every day (not a bad gig, right?).


While continuously evolving Innodelice’s network of connections, I get to witness—up close—the great minds of our industry. Through thoughtful discussions with countless company founders, I learn about their strategies for shaping the ice cream industry of today and tomorrow.


So, for this year’s International Women’s Day, I wanted to take a moment to showcase the incredible women I’ve had the pleasure of discovering. Not simply because they’re women (after all, that wasn’t exactly their choice 😉), but because of the decisions they make every day—choices I believe can inspire us all, regardless of gender.


Beautiful Ice Cream Brands


While ice cream is always visually tempting, some brands take it a step further to elevate its aesthetics. The result is ice cream that becomes an actual work of art! Here are just a few examples:


Granny Gothards Ice Cream and Sorbets (United Kingdom)


They say a picture is worth a thousand words—and Amanda Ringelberg and Susie Hodgkin, the mother-and-daughter "luxury artisans" behind Granny Gothards Ice Cream and Sorbets, know this all too well.


Through their artistic brand imagery, they capture the superior quality of their products and, dare I say, the soul of their brand—creating what I can only describe as true ice cream royalty.



House of Pops (United Arab Emirates)


If colorful popsicles have a magical way of brightening the eyes of children and adults, House of Pops takes us on a journey. The brand invites us to enter a whimsical world—a place co-founder Marcela Sancho describes as "natural happiness."


Bold, beautiful colors define this brand, from its website to its packaging and, of course, its gorgeous pops. With just one glance, the brand has captured the essence of a beautiful summer day in every pop!



Innovative Products


Ice cream is all about innovation, yet innovation can mean so many things—such as new flavors, branding, or formats. While most, if not all, brands innovate, few trailblaze and push the limits of the status quo. Below, I’ve outlined two such brands you should definitely know about.


Eat Kinda (New Zealand)


Meet Eat Kinda co-founders Jenni Matheson and Mrinali Kumar, who introduced the world to their groundbreaking frozen dessert—made from cauliflower! Surprisingly creamy, vegan, and packaged in home-compostable materials, it’s a bold challenge to the status quo!



Salt & Straw (United States)


If you’re a regular follower of Innodelice’s What’s New articles, you’ll have heard of Salt & Straw.


With five new flavors each month, founder and CEO Kim Malek keeps us on our toes with an exciting array of never-ending flavor combinations. Alongside her more traditional flavors, she offers some truly out-of-this-world creations, such as: 


  • Smoked Mac and Cheese,

  • Cinnamon and Honey Fried Chicken, 

  • Green Apple Wasabi Sorbet (vegan), 

  • Pots of Gold and Rainbows, and

  • Pastrami on Rye (who could forget?). 


I can’t wait to see what else this brand will offer in the future!



Creative Marketing Campaigns


A great product is just one part of the battle when conquering the ice cream industry—marketing is another. With retailers’ shelves so crowded, out-of-home marketing and social media campaigns give brands, big and small, a strategic edge. Under the guidance of Co-Founder Vivien Wong, Little Moons is a brand that often has some of the most recent exciting ones!


Little Moons (United Kingdom)


Little Moons is hands-down a leader in ice cream marketing campaigns. From the beginning, the brand was out in the streets, engaging people with fun, colorful carts and fridges for product testing. Since then, they’ve captivated ice cream lovers with pop-up canal mochi boats, experiential pop-up stores worldwide, and more.


Most recently, Little Moons launched a seductive ad—one of my favorites—highlighting its Refreshos line. The ad captures the brand's colorful and playful attributes. Please take a peek; I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!


Image Sources: Here and via the Manchester Evening News (via Google)


The Power of Collaborations


Brands build equity, and co-branding can multiply that equity's power when done right. It confirms a brand’s positioning, generates curiosity among a broader range of potential consumers, and ultimately (plus, hopefully) generates new consumer purchases. One such example is a recent release from Doughlicious and PepsiCo.


Doughlicious (United Kingdom)


Douglicious, founded by Kathryn Bricken, recently surprised the world with its latest collaboration with PepsiCo.


Riding the wave of the current ‘swicy’ trend, this partnership led to Flaming Hot Gelato Bites—chilli cookie dough wrapped around ghost chilli-infused gelato, all dusted with a chipotle cookie crumb.


Sure, this bold flavor combination might not suit every palate. Even so, the brand’s marketing reach and distribution expansion will undoubtedly make the effort behind this launch worthwhile!



International Expansion


Many female-led brands have achieved international expansion—a remarkable accomplishment for any brand, regardless of size or industry. For example, Granny Gothards has been exporting to the Middle East for some time, and Little Mochi has successfully brought its brand to multiple continents. 


But one brand that’s recently caught my attention is Franui. 


While their frozen chocolate-coated fruit might seem like a new trend, it’s far from it. CEO and co-founder Leticia Fenoglio’s family has been developing this market for over 20 years! 


Those familiar with international business know that location plays a huge role, as distance automatically erodes profitability.

Patagonia, Argentina—Fenoglio’s home—is one of the most remote places you can imagine!


Despite this challenge, the brand hasn’t let its location hold it back. During my recent travels around the world, I always make it a point to check the ice cream shelves—and without fail, I spot Franui’s pints every time!


Research reveals that Franui is present in 35 countries, with Australia being the latest to join the list! All I can say is, wow!



More Incredible Women in Ice Cream


By now, you’ll surely have noticed this article combines two of my passions: ice cream and uplifting women. Therefore, I could go on for pages and pages, highlighting additional amazing feats, like:


  • Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and founder Jeni Britton’s clear superiority of her products,

  • Van Leeuwen’s co-founder, Laura O'Neill, who arrived in the US from Australia in 2008 before launching the brand with one business truck—and then growing it to its success today, and

  • Frozen yogurt brand Yasso co-founder Amanda Klane, who led the company through its merger and acquisition by Unilever in 2023—an achievement that many other brands dreamed of.


Women worldwide are shaping our beautiful ice cream category. Yet, they’re often not in the spotlight and are rarely top-of-mind when discussing the “great ones” in ice cream.

This article aims to change that. I wanted to highlight the women in ice cream and their achievements, elevate their contributions, and help level the playing field.


Below, you'll find a longer list of incredible women from around the globe making history in ice cream. See them. Know them. Choose them. And, most importantly, invest in them.


And, of course, a very special tribute to Mrs. Shirley Robbins, who, in 1945, co-founded what would become one of the most iconic brands in our industry: Baskin-Robbins.


On this International Women’s Day—well done to all of us!


NOTE: Of course, this is just a glimpse into women's remarkable impact in this sweet world of frozen treats. Countless incredible women are making their mark in the ice cream industry. While I’ve highlighted a few here, there are many more whose contributions and achievements deserve recognition. If you're one of them or know of one, please connect!

 

 

Women-Owned or Founded Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Businesses


Canada



USA



LATIN AMERICA



EUROPE


AFRICA



UNITED ARAB EMIRATES



ASIA


OCEANIA


Together, let’s celebrate this International Women’s Day and commit to being the change needed to achieve gender equality – in the ice cream industry and worldwide!


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ABOUT INNODELICE

Founded by former executives in the ice cream industry, INNODELICE aims to create a worldwide ecosystem of solutions within the frozen dessert industry. Thanks to the relationships fostered by INNODELICE, manufacturers, brands, importers, distributors, and suppliers can discover, buy, and sell solutions to grow their businesses. These solutions include co-manufactured and branded products and innovative and competitive ingredients, packaging, and services. Our collaboration model generates lower costs and fewer risks for our participating partners while optimizing their time to market. To learn more about INNODELICE, contact Andrea Montreuil or visit www.innodelice.com.

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