Well folks, the weather is finally starting to turn and Brooklyn is feeling especially vibrant.  People are in high spirits as they populate the streets again, some of them even breaking out the shorts and short sleeves because here in the northeast we consider anything above 45 degrees to be practically a summer day after slogging through a long, brutal winter.

We are feeling equally inspired by the warmer weather and are pushing as hard as possible to open Hay Rosie. I can honestly say I have never been so excited for anything.  Theres so much anticipation I just cant wait to share our ice creams!  I think the change of seasons has made that desire even more pronounced, so I wanted to tell you a little bit about what were working on now and where we hope to be within the next month.

Our package design is just about finished thanks to our friends at Studio Nudge, and were finalizing the details on things like our nutrition facts, ingredient declarations and other labeling details.  I am super excited about the way the packages are shaping up, and I think theyre a perfect reflection of the Hay Rosie brand.

Construction on our space is coming along quickly now.  The production room in which well actually be making the ice cream took quite a bit of effort to prepare.  We really wanted the conditions under which we pasteurize, make, and package our ice creams to be as perfect as we could get them.  The less interference and smoother the prep space, the more energy we get to spend on creating the best product possible.  At this point, were waiting on a few pieces of equipment and are moving into things like paint selection and decor.  Thats especially encouraging to me because it means were getting really close!

Were also in the process of nailing down the details for the Tasting Room, which we could not have done without so many generous supporters of our Indiegogo campaign.  Were looking at scooping 8 flavors at a time and whenever I get a moment to daydream, chances are that Im thinking about what will fill those eight slots from week to week.  Ive got a list about a mile long (and growing by the day).

Ice cream development also continues daily.  I try to make a point of making or testing every day.  On weekends Im often making 6 or 7 batches of ice cream per day (or whatever my freezer will allow we have a lot of dedicated taste testers out there), and conducting a number of tests to make sure that we know how our products respond to all kinds of circumstances.  Ice cream is a temperamental product and understanding its behavior will help us control the quality of each pint.

There are some other details, but I wont bore you with everything thats happening here at headquarters.  Like any business, weve hit a few bumps in the road that have pushed back our projected opening date.  If youd asked me a few months back I would have told you wed be off the ground by April 1.  Well, Ive learned my lesson on that front, but I am saying that were seeing significant progress and will be up and running very soon.  In the meantime, enjoy every single degree that the mercury climbs.

See you soon!
Stef

The Indiegogo campaign is officially over!  We are totally thrilled by the response and the support we received throughout those crazy thirty days.

We had over 100 supporters and raised almost $5,000!  We seriously cannot thank you all enough.  Here is the final list of contributors (minus a few who chose to remain anonymous, of course.  We like to think theyre spies or high-powered government officials).

Thanks to the fantastic response, were now working hard on developing the Tasting Room right alongside our production operation!  Im especially excited about this and think it will be a really great addition to Hay Rosie.

Heres what were up to these days:

Construction:  The construction on the space is moving forward, though if you have ever watched an episode of Property Brothers (or, like me - every episode of Property Brothers), you know that delays are inevitable.  Weve hit a few.  Nothing major, thank goodness (knock wood) its been really fun to watch the space take shape.  Wait til you see it!

Packaging:  Selecting packaging is a tough job!  It seems like a no-brainer, but the reality is that its the first impression our product will make.  How can we make it stand out?  Be appealing?  Be environmentally sound?  Be cost-efficient?  Be a size and shape and weight that will help us more easily ship our product?  Be the best for our ice cream?

Most ice cream companies these days have abandoned the old cardboard cartons in favor of round plastic pints.  Were exploring all options, and trying to make a determination on what we think will be the best for our particular brand, product, and market.

Flavor Selection:  Perhaps the most daunting in my mind at the moment is choosing the flavors that will go into distribution.  You know the saying Its like choosing a child?  Thats right, ice cream flavors are my children.  Expect a wallet-full of photos if you run into me on the street.  This is Mint Cherry Mascarpone, and over here is young Salty Buttered Honey.  But she has her eyes closed.  Wait, I have a better one

The hard part is that we can only pack and distribute so many flavors for our initial launch.  Weve developed dozens that we feel really great about (and certainly dozens more over the years), so narrowing it down to 3 or 4 has been incredibly difficult!  So many factors at play: what we like, what our potential customers will want, what else is on the shelf, which flavors wont have ingredient overlap (just because I love honey in everything doesnt mean you do.  Seriously though, some days I wonder if we should have been an all honey-based ice cream company.  So many varieties!).

The fun part is that were doing a lot of taste testing, and since ice cream is a well-documented stress reliever, it really all balances out.

Stick around well be updating regularly as we move through some of the logistics and approach our launch date.  Cant wait!

Hey everyone!

With a little under ten days to go, weve been working hard to try to bring this Tasting Room to life!!  Thanks so everyone who has been so generous so far and donated or shared our campaign.  Its very much appreciated.

We are at a point now where we can officially check off some of the items on our list!  But we still have some more work to go in order to open our doors to the public.

So we are in the midst of our Indiegogo campaign and our friends are working hard to complete the construction at our location.  Next week, that Emery Thompson batch freezer I told you about is being delivered and were in development on the packaging that youll soon get to see right in your very own freezer things are really exciting!!

In the meantime, weve taken the opportunity to dig into a few new flavors.

As promised in my last post, heres a little background on one of the many flavors you can expect to taste when were up and running!  Well be introducing new flavors intermittently between now and our opening.

Today, were starting with one of our very first formulas: Mexican Muscovado Caramel.  This was one of the original flavors that became an obsession for me while making ice cream at home.  I made dozens (maybe more!) of batches, on a mission to craft the most flavorful caramel that I could; nothing added, just pure, perfect caramel.  This flavor is the result of those efforts, and I hope you enjoy!