Page 10 - Food&Drink July 2019

✷ RISING STAR
✷ IN THE DEEP FREEZE WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOUR
ICE-CREAM SANDWICHES
Chocolate Lace | Espresso Lace | Vanilla Chocolate | Strawberry Chocolate Chip | Caramel Pecan | Double Chocolate | Peppermint Chocolate Chip | Vanilla Lace
VEGAN ICE-CREAM SANDWICHES
Vanilla Chocolate Chip | Caramel Pecan | Double Chocolate
CHEWY ICE-CREAM SANDWICHES
Salted Caramel | Vanilla Walnut Brownie | Chocolate Walnut Brownie
COOKIES-N-CREAM BY THE TUB
Caramel Pecan | Double Chocolate | Pepermint Chocolate Chip | Vanilla Lace
ICE CREAM BY THE TUB
Peppermint Chocolate Chip | Butter Toasted Pecan | Dark Belgian Chocolate | Traditional Vanilla Bean
Ice Cream Co. has just launched a vegan ice cream sandwich range: Vanilla Chocolate Chip, Caramel Pecan, and Double Chocolate.
“It’s hugely popular and going great guns. We spent about a year developing it, but I’m a bit Henry Ford perfectionist when I do these things – like when he was in the railway carriages tinkering on the Model A the night before the first shipment.”
Seach says next on the agenda are healthier-eating options and a kids range. They will be portion controlled, so slightly smaller with a lower price point, he says.
“I want to make them a healthier product that tastes really good. Therein lies the trick, but I know we can do it because we’ve already made prototypes.
“Now, there’s great availability of plant-based protein boosters, fibres, probiotics and prebiotics; it’s pretty cool. And we can pull in knowledge from experts.”
Watching his three-year-old daughter with a Pat and Stick’s Homemade Ice Cream Co. sandwich in her little hand was inspiration.
He said he would be happy for
her to have an ice cream developed by him knowing “it’s actually a source of excellent fibre and good protein, with good fats, and not overly sweet”.
Seach is also excited about the company’s ambient product: cookies.
“The by-product of all
of this is that we evolve a cookie line as well, so that’s our next area of focus.”
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
A little while ago, Monnot sold out most of his share to Nick Jin Yu to spend more time with his young children.
Seach says, “Nick started working for us years ago as a kitchen hand, essentially.
“He’s just an amazingly hard worker, and we always worked together really well.
“Pat has remained a good friend and is still onboard as a shareholder and advisor, but now it’s myself and Nick.
“We both just love it and have a fascination with it.”
A fourth minor shareholder
is Ben Dutton, from The Forage Company who acts as an advisor.
BUILDING
ON ITS
STRONG
FOUNDATIONS
About one fifth of the company’s sales are in food service. Growing that makes “strong business sense” because “the more people who know about an ice cream sandwich, the better”, he says.
The company supplies Qantas business and first class. International first class receives a bespoke ice-cream sandwich based on a Neil Perry Rockpool dessert with a sesame caramel lace cookie that is half dipped in chocolate.
The business also contract manufactures vegan ice-cream sandwiches.
Seach says, “the product is so pure”, and the recipient company “just loves it”.
Export is also in the mix but is limited due to the nature of the product and freight costs. It has been exporting to Singapore “for some time”.
They are looking to do more in Singapore and Hong Kong, with a China launch on the horizon.
“Many people think China is the holy grail for an Australia manufacturer, but it’s actually a very, very difficult proposition to get there properly,” Seach says.
Domestically, Seach is committed to getting Pat and Stick’s to regional areas and Western Australia.
His aim is for Pat and Stick’s to be a household name, but he says it is tough for a small supplier to do that in Australia without becoming beholden to one of the supermarkets.
The company has the capacity to be operating at that scale, so his is navigating those opportunties carefully.
We want a “great, solid business” in Australia, he says.
“We’re making a frozen product, with power costs and raw ingredient costs going up constantly. And we’re trying to send ice cream across huge distances in one of the hottest countries on earth.
“It’s crazy, but we have pride and a lot of passion for what we’re making”.
Personally, Seach would not want to be anywhere else. ✷
10 | Food&Drink business | July 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au