As a teenager, I always wonder what more I can do. I’m involved in clubs, sports, and just about a million other extracurriculars. However, never in a million years would I have either the time or passion to start my own business. For Grace Connor, owner of Little G Ice Cream Company, it seemed like a no-brainer. At the age of 17, she is running a fully successful, soon to be home-recognizable, ice cream company.
Fortunately enough, I was able to talk to Grace on the phone to get a full understanding of why she wanted to start the business and what the business means to her. It is pretty amazing to see how much she’s done despite her young age.
The Base
At the age of five, making a cake with her sister for her dad’s birthday sparked an immediate interest in Grace. However, she was interested in more than boxed cake mix and Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Frosting. She wanted to invent desserts that she could call her own. From then on, she was constantly creating in the kitchen. She was taking recipes from cookbooks, but with each, added her own signiture touch.
By the age of eight, she was selling her baked goods to family and friends. This young businesswoman went door to door selling her food, and in no time she would be sold out. Grace had her regular customers, but there were also clients who requested hundreds of cookies at times for special occasions including baby showers and weddings.
Since baked goods don’t have a long shelf life, she was only able to make them the day of selling them. While her baking days were short lived, she quickly learned businesses are not for the faint of heart.
As an elementary school student, Grace Connor already had a huge dream of soon becoming a business owner. However, this time, with a product that could last more than a day. Ice cream was her solution.
The Ice Cream Maker
From the day she received her first ice cream machine while in second grade, Grace was making flavors she had always wanted. While at times they were over-the-top, the combination of her freshly baked treats mixed into her ice cream base was always a hit. Her customers went crazy for it, but her family’s home kitchen could no longer pump out the amount of ice cream she needed to fulfill the orders.
With the support of her family and friends, plus a savings account of money she had saved for this eventual business, Grace pitched her company and got herself a location in a commercial kitchen. With only a big dream and insanely delicious ice cream, the commercial kitchen took her in.
Over the next few months, Grace worked tirelessly as not only an entrepreneur, but as a high school student. By January of 2016, about sixth months after she had orginally pitched her idea, Grace’s company set sail. Her first sale was at a local farmers market. And while she had to trek out in the middle of January during a winter storm in Massachusettes, her ice cream made it to a box freezer.
While this was nothing special, the ice cream sold out almost immediately. With more demand, and more stores to be shipped to, this young business owner was working countless hours in order to fulfill her dream of a successful company.
The Mix-Ins
Using the recipes she’d taught herself as a child, plus some new, trendy ones, Grace was churning out ice cream like it was no one’s business. Since the company didn’t have the budget to ship to many stores, Grace placed her ice cream products on goldbely.com, where you can buy them online.
Besides the fact that the company is run by a 17-year-old, what makes the company so unique is its awesome flavors. They don’t make your average flavors like chocolate or vanilla. No, no.
They have flavors like Snack Attack, which is vanilla ice cream with a caramelized mixture of pretzels, potato chips along with Ritz crackers, M&Ms, and Peanut Butter Cups (aka heaven). And don’t forget Maple Pecan French Toast, which is maple ice cream with french toast chunks, candied pecans, and cinnamon cream cheese swirl.
Little G Ice Cream Company comes out with seasonal flavors. She works directly with her buyers to create the best flavors possible. She recently held a contest to make the newest flavor, and wound up choosing three. Although the flavors are now discontinued, she will be holding more contests for a chance to win some ice cream on her Instagram.
The Cherry On Top
The ice cream is loved by everyone who tries it. It’s no doubt that with all the love and effort that goes into it that it is some of the best ice cream people have ever tasted. It’s so great, it has even made Orpah’s Spring O list.
Grace has also been featured on Rachael Ray and NBC Nightly News, along with all of her local news stations. It’s a fabulous product with an even more fabulous person behind it. She is dedicated to the company and will do what it takes to make it a product you can buy in your grocery store.
For now, Grace plans on finishing her high school career. Although she will eventually go to college, her main focus at this point is Little G. She wants to expand the business before she can hand the torch down to someone else in the company.
As for the business, Grace is willing to take it to the next level. By the summer, her goal is to have a scoop shop. She also wants to sell the ice cream in grocery stores around the country. For now, nearly all of the stores are in Massachusettes (click here to see the full list). She hopes within the next few months she will sell the ice cream in more Whole Foods stores in the Northeast.
Grace was so sweet to talk to, and I was able to hear all about her plans for the company. Although she might be young, she’s got a huge company under her control. With hard work and passion, Little G Ice Cream Company has been extremely successful. It only takes a small idea and some effort to make your dream reality.