Cauli-powered ice cream

It's ice cream, but not as you know it - EatKinda's cauliflower ice cream offers a dairy-free alternative that's creamy, delicious and kind to the planet.

New Zealand's food waste crisis sees 40% of locally grown fruit and vegetables discarded, with much of this produce not making it to supermarket shelves because of its appearance.

Enter EatKinda, the Kiwi company repurposing some of that waste by turning cosmetically imperfect cauliflower into ice cream.

EatKinda co-founders Jenni Matheson and Mrinali 'Milli' Kumar share a love of vegan food, but also a belief that Kiwis need to eat more consciously and sustainably.

Research demonstrates that cauliflower requires 93% less land and 81% less water to produce than traditional dairy ice cream, while producing 84% fewer greenhouse gases and 53% less nutrient run-off into the environment.

The EatKinda journey began with a kitchen recipe: frustrated by the limited plant-based options available on the market in the early 2000s, Jenni started experimenting with her own cauliflower ice cream at home.

After pitching it to Startup Taranaki, her idea caught the attention of food technologist Milli, who at the time was in her final year of studies at Massey University.

Together the pair trialled and developed a plant-based dessert that has all the texture, consistency and mouthfeel of traditional ice cream.

But the big question is - does it taste like cauliflower? In a word, no. The ice cream comes in three flavours: strawberry, chocolate and mint. The technical process EatKinda uses ensures those flavours take centre stage, leaving behind any hint of cauliflower taste.

Not only that, but EatKinda's innovative formula means their product is more stable and slower to melt than other plant-based ice creams on the market.

Milli's work on the project earned her the Momentum Student Entrepreneur Award at the 2022 KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.

Propelled by their unique product offering, EatKinda received the support of KiwiNet's PreSeed Accelerator Funding and Massey Ventures’ Student Investment Fund to successfully launch to market.

Their partnership with Hell Pizza in 2023 marked a turning point, with stores selling out nationwide eight weeks after launching. Since then, EatKinda has been scooped up by national media, surprised by the creamy taste of the plant-based ice cream.

In November 2023, the product launched in Countdown supermarkets, bringing EatKinda to the masses.

Eventually, Jenni and Milli hope to take their ice cream overseas. They're also exploring ideas for other potential vegetable-based products. But for now, having taken a kitchen recipe and commercialised it to scale, they are enjoying the sweet taste of success.

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