Chocolate Date is now *Chocolate*!
Did you know chocolate date was the first ice cream flavor we created when dreaming up Frankie & Jo’s in 2014? Having a vegan ice cream that’s alternatively sweetened with dates is very important to our team. Over the years, Chocolate Date has become a beloved flavor at Frankie & Jo’s and is very much *our* chocolate ice cream. So we decided to shorten the name to chocolate! You can still expect the simple perfection of organic Coachella Valley dates, organic dark cocoa powder, and creamy, gum-free coconut milk, balanced with a mineral-rich salt. Scroll down to read the full interview with our founder, Autumn Martin, about the ice cream formerly known as Chocolate Date.
What was the passion and drive behind Chocolate Date? What is its origin story?
Ice cream brings people together and is a tradition woven into our fabric - anybody should be able to go out and enjoy ice cream, regardless of their food preferences, beliefs, allergies, etc. Frankie and Jo’s exists because I wanted to create an ice cream for everybody.
For years I have been experimenting with food as a direct influence on my health and wellness. As a chocolatier for over 20 years, you can imagine how much sugar I have had to consume for my job. Because of this, I have spent many large chunks of time off sugar, but would allow whole dates. So it was clear I needed to develop a date-sweetened ice cream. It was the first flavor I created way back in the early days, and it was the ice cream I used to get Kari Brunson, my now business partner, excited about joining me in the journey of Frankie & Jo’s. :)
Why are we so adamant to keep it on our menu? How does it align with our mission?
While a classic ice cream like Cookies & Cream or Strawberry will bring on the lines, it’s an ice cream like our Chocolate, sweetened with just dates, that has a dedicated and passionate following. We make this ice cream for people who don’t want to eat processed sugar, for people who just absolutely love dates, AND for people who love fudge pops, because that is exactly how it tastes!! I feel so passionate about this ice cream being available for those who love it and those who need it, even if it never becomes one of our top five most beloved flavors. It’s an ice cream that represents those who live to the beat of their own drum, who defy the status quo. And that is exactly what we do at Frankie & Jo’s.
Why did we change the name?
You know, there is so much in a name. You can tell a whole story in a name, evoke emotions and nostalgia - a name can hold so much. To us, Chocolate Date has always been our chocolate ice cream, but we have heard feedback that our customers read the name and have a different sense, so to simplify and hopefully better represent the flavor, we are going back to basics! Chocolate. The ice cream formerly known as Chocolate Date.