SLO County ice cream maker has plans to expand across the country. Here’s how
A family-owned ice cream company based in Paso Robles is partnering with a Boise food group to expand its flavorful reach throughout the country.
In May, Negranti Creamery began a partnership with Arete Food Group, which owns the eight-store Gyro Shack franchise in Idaho’s Treasure Valley. Arete Food Group also owns and operates Negranti Creamery’s Boise location, which it licensed from the Negranti family.
The new partnership aims to streamline production of Negranti Creamery’s sheep milk ice cream, offer licenses to open more scoop shops across the West and East Coast and distribute its products in bigger grocery chains, according to Seth Brink, Arete Food Group’s president.
“We’re offering a product that is up and coming,” Brink said. “We’re just excited to further (Negranti Creamery founder and owner) Alexis Negranti’s vision and build the brand that she wants to build.”
History of Paso Robles ice cream company
Alexis Negranti bought her first flock of sheep in 2010 and founded Negranti Creamery a year later.
Since 2011, the San Luis Obispo County business has expanded to include four scoop shops, collaborations with local and national companies and retail sales in grocery stores and restaurants across the West Coast.
After years of serving scoops from a food truck, Negranti Creamery opened its first storefront location in Paso Robles in 2017.
In 2021, the company opened two additional locations in San Luis Obispo County — one in Atascadero and another in downtown Paso Robles — as well as its store in Boise.
That same year, Negranti Creamery partnered with online retailer Goldbelly to ship its ice cream nationally and began to offer ice cream truck events, in collaboration with Haute Sugar Co.
The popular creamery currently offers more than 15 different artisan flavors of ice cream, made with milk from pasture-raised sheep blended with fresh ingredients. Favorites include strawberry basil, vanilla bean and peanut butter chocolate chip.
Negranti Creamery partners with Idaho food group
According to Brink, the Negranti family contacted Arete Food Group in 2021 to offer a potential partnership.
“They grew so fast that they had a hard time keeping up with the operations,” Brink said. “So they asked if we wanted to partner with them to grow at a higher pace.”
Alexis Negranti said that the relationship she formed with Arete Food Group as it licensed and opened its Negranti Creamery store in Boise was one she wanted to continue.
“We all collaborated extremely well; we share similar values and vision for the brand; as a family business that is extremely important to us,” Negranti wrote in an email. “As time went on we realized how, by working together, we could grow the brand into what I’ve always dreamed it to be.”
Arete Food Group’s first focus in the partnership is to take over the operations and accounting of the business, Brink said.
The group is currently using its experience in food service to upgrade Negranti Creamery’s production facilities, streamline the supply chain, lower the production costs and increase its marketing spend.
In addition, Brink said that the food group is meeting with bigger grocery chains with the goal of selling ice cream in those stores next summer.
Negranti Creamery is also constructing a second ice cream store in Boise, and looking to open more stores in the Central Coast and across the country.
What will change under new partnership?
Although the Negrantis are no longer in charge of day-to-day operations at Negranti Creamery, they will continue to be actively involved in the business, with Alexis Negranti now focused on the marketing and creative aspects of the creamery.
“We’re not going anywhere without Wade and Alexis. They are the founders,” Brink said. “And we’re doing everything that we can together to make sure that the vision doesn’t change. Because it’s Alexis’s vision.”
Alexis Negranti emphasized the fact that the creamery’s values, vision and “fresh, wholesome and real ingredients” would not change as a result of the partnership.
“We have the same team members, offerings and ingredients,” Negranti said. “Regarding how things are run at the creamery, it will be better! The Boise team has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to management and food service, (showing) again why this partnership is so great for the brand.”
Looking back, Negranti said she’s proud of what she has accomplished with her business so far.
“When I started Negranti Creamery almost 12 years ago, I went on a whim by starting a sheep dairy and learning how to make ice cream — all without any business (or dairy) experience,” Negranti said. “I took the creamery from hand-milking three sheep to distribution throughout the West Coast and three Central Coast scoop shops.”
She said it was important for her to ask for Arete Food Group’s support, especially since she has visions of growing the company nationally.
“I think that’s something really important for business owners to realize,” Negranti said. “For a company to remain strong, know your strengths, more importantly understand your weaknesses, and don’t have too much of an ego to know when to ask for help.”
For more information about Negranti Creamery, and to find store locations, visit negranticreamery.com.
This story was originally published June 30, 2022 at 9:51 AM.
