- Okay, so there's no getting around it.
Too many people have lost their jobs
since the start of the pandemic.
It's been devastating for so many people.
My next guest is one of them, but instead of panicking,
she picked herself up and started down a whole new path
making ice cream, which is why we should be friends,
first of all.
We call that a Pandemic Pivot, y'all.
(upbeat music)
♪ Pandemic Pivot ♪
(Kelly laughs)
- I love all y'all's jingles, they make me so happy.
I just want them all to listen to it.
From Ice Cream Social, let's say hi to Katrina.
What's up Katrina!?
(clapping) (applauding)
- Hi!
- Oh, first of all, I love your art!
That's a cool tattoo, under your arm right there.
That's cool!
- Thank you!
- Yeah, had to notice that.
So, Katrina, what did you do before the pandemic struck?
- So I was actually a product designer and photographer
for eight years for a company that specialized
in educational materials.
As soon as the pandemic hit,
they actually asked us to start working remotely,
which I think was the case for most people.
And two weeks into that, I was furloughed,
which was a giant bummer and I started freaking out.
I decided that I was just gonna use the time
to sort of focus on my existing hobbies
and try to learn new things as much as I could.
- Yeah, so well, how did you get into making ice cream?
- I actually grew up working in my parents' restaurant,
an ice cream shop in Northern Wisconsin.
In 2017 I started experimenting making ice cream myself.
I found out that I couldn't have gluten
and so going to an ice cream shop
was always just a giant bummer
because I couldn't have any of the fun flavors.
Ice cream making was obviously a hobby
that I completely threw myself into
and I started making it for my friends
and I was calling it Ice Cream Social,
and I was so over the top about it
because I can't do a hobby halfway.
I designed a logo and made stickers
and ordered recyclable containers
just to share it with my friends.
- That's awesome, do y'all have any friends
that make homemade ice cream?
'Cause I don't, I--
- We actually, during this time, we, Haley and I
made homemade ice cream and it was amazing.
It was so delicious and I'm like, wow,
that's the way for it.
And we did it vegan with like coconut cream and stuff
instead of milk and it's so good.
- Do you know people
that can even do that? - No, and I wanna know you!
(laughing) - Yeah!
- That is amazing and I love the name!
- I know it's so great.
So well, Katrina, what made you decide
to turn it into a business?
After the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd,
I knew I wanted to do something to help.
So after a sleepless night,
I kind of came up with the idea of selling the ice cream
on Instagram and sort of a--
It's a social media bake sale, I guess I would call it.
Within 24 hours, I started designing all of the content
for my Instagram page, photographed a batch of ice cream
I had just made, and posted it for sale online.
And it kind of just went crazy from there.
So I set a base price for everything that I list
between six and $10.
It kind of depends on how expensive it is to make.
So people are welcome to pay the base price,
but then you can also contribute more if you want.
So some people have donated as much as $50
for a 12-ounce container of ice cream,
which is just so over-the-top-generous,
I start crying every time that happens
'cause I'm just blown away by how kind people are being.
But then I take all of the proceeds and I donate them
to various nonprofits fighting for social justice causes.
- You make no money off of this, right?
- Correct, yeah.
So everything I bring in gets donated to various nonprofits.
I take out a small amount just to cover the expenses
and then everything else gets donated.
So my hope is I'm currently looking
for commercial kitchen space,
'cause I'm just trying to keep up with demand now.
My stuff sells out in like five minutes, it's insane.
(gasps) - Wow.
- So I'm just trying to keep up with demand
so I'm trying to find commercial kitchen space
and sourcing affordable batch machines.
I just wanna get as much money as possible
into the pockets of organizations that need it.
and since June 1st, when I first launched this,
we've raised almost $3,000.
- Wow, that is so great!
(clapping) So, well, we love
what you're doing so we reached out to our friends
at goPuff, the go-to solution for immediate everyday needs,
and they're passionate about supporting local businesses,
Katrina, so when they heard about your story,
they wanted to help your business grow.
And that's why they're gonna give you $5,000.
- Whew! (clapping)
Yeah! (laughing)
- Yeah!
Maybe you can find somewhere to put that freezer!
All right, well, Katrina, we love you, thank you so much!