Halo Top Creamery


Halo Top Creamery is an ice cream company and brand sold in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Taiwan, South Korea, Austria, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The brand is marketed as a lower-calorie alternative, partially substituting sugar with stevia, a plant-based sweetener, and erythritol, a sugar alcohol.

History

The ice cream brand was founded around 2011 by former attorney Justin Woolverton of Latham & Watkins LLP. Woolverton had begun making ice cream in his own kitchen with the goal of reducing his consumption of carbohydrates and refined sugars. The company is currently run by Woolverton and Doug Bouton, President and COO. Woolverton met Bouton, another former attorney, in an amateur basketball league. By 2017, it had grown to 50 employees.
In the early stages of Halo Top, Woolverton continuously experimented, tweaking and improving the ingredients for over a year. In order to create a long-lasting formula that could sustain shipment through the supply chain, Woolverton went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Dairy Innovation Institute, where he was able to refine and polish the formula with a contract manufacture.
Halo Top launched in Los Angeles on June 15, 2012, and is currently sold throughout the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. At a retail price of $5 per pint, Halo Top's annual sales grew up around 2,500% during 2016 and continued to increase in 2017. In July 2017, Halo Top became the best-selling ice cream pint at grocery stores in the United States, surpassing in popularity the Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs brands, which previously held that distinction for years. The company describes its product as the first ever "lifestyle" ice cream that can be eaten daily without overwhelming a typical caloric intake diet, but nutritionists have expressed that "'just because it’s a slightly better choice does not mean that it is a good choice.'" Halo Top now offers several vegan/dairy-free flavors and has opened three physical locations, which serve scoop-based ice cream and soft serve.
On September 9, 2019 Halo Top announced sale of its US operations to Wells Enterprises for an undisclosed amount.

Ingredients

Halo Top's ingredients are relatively low in calories and sugar and high in protein and fiber. Halo Top is a mixture of eggs, milk, and cream, like other ice cream brands, but is distinct due to its substitution for sugar. Halo Top uses organic stevia, a plant-based sweetener, and erythritol, a sugar alcohol, to substitute sugar in their ice cream. Each pint ranges from 240-360 calories.
The ingredients used to make Halo Top ice cream include:
The nutritional value of a pint of vanilla Halo Top ice cream is:'''
Halo Top offers an array of flavors, including dairy free and vegan flavors. Consumers can also suggest new flavors online for the Halo Top team to consider bringing to market.

Locations

In 2018, Halo Top opened three "Scoop Shop" locations. These Scoop Shop locations offer soft serve, scoops, sundaes, and sandwiches with various toppings to chose from.