Founder: Jeni Britton Bauer
Jeni first realized she loved the ice cream business when working at a parlor in high school. She then went to college at Ohio State where she studied fine art and art history. Thinking that she might become a perfumer, she experimented with essential oils, often mixing a few drops into pints of ice cream and taking them to parties. Her ice cream was so popular that she decided to leave college to start her own ice cream company. Although her first business, Scream Ice Cream, ended up closing after 4 years, Jeni saw potential. She took a course on ice cream making and with her boyfriend went to the bank to get a $40K loan to help restart her business. After a year it finally went through and Jeni opened her new stand at North Market in Columbus, OH under Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.
Jeni is a pioneer of the artisan ice cream movement. She convinced dairies to sell directly from their farms to her so that she doesn't have to buy from a traditional distributor, which compromises flavor and texture by introducing increased processing. Jeni buys the rest of her fresh ingredients (strawberries, chocolate, etc.) straight from the source as well. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams now sells its inspired flavors in 40+ scoop shops, ships direct-to-consumer nationwide, and is available at select grocery stores.
"Every year you get tested and you get stronger. You build more resilience.” - Jeni
Sources: Forbes, Postmates, Jeni's website