Ben Van Leeuwen

Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder of Van Leeuwen ice cream, talks about expanding the business overseas, handling inflation, and why American consumer habits are perfect for a pricey ice cream chain. They also discuss their transition from trucks to small stores, trusting their gut over data, managing costs amidst rising ingredient prices, and the decision to expand internationally starting with Singapore.

I visited Ben Van Leeuwen at his Brooklyn-based ice cream factory!  They have a truly remarkable story, starting from a single ice cream truck 10yrs ago, to building an epic brand with a cult following.     They’ve since grown to a $20mil business, going from 15 stores to 25 in the next few months after taking investment for the first time. They’ve also grown their wholesale business where they now sell their ice cream in over 1000 stores across 44 states.     We discuss their humble beginnings, meeting his co-founder, falling in love,  a focus on product excellence by sourcing the very best ingredients & you’ll hear what it took to build their business with zero investment after their modest friends and family round.  SHOW NOTES Here are five things to listen out for:   (1) Travel – Ben leaving college to travel and explore the world.   (2) Kaizen vs 10x Moonshot Thinking – continuous improvement in all aspects of their company vs a mindset of massive transformational change   (3) Starting a business with his wife & brother – navigating a breakup, working with family & how they’ve made Van Leeuwen a huge success   (4) Product & Customer Excellence – focusing on using only the very best ingredients & bringing joy to their customers   (5) Growth – stories from starting their first ice cream truck to growing to 25 stores & 44 states & why they decided to take major investment for the first time Times Stamps  3:02 – Who is Ben Van Leeuwen 3:58 – How did Ben get into ice cream 10:45 – Where Ben’s food awareness came from 13:23 – Ben’s parents and his upbringing 16:56 – How Ben developed his entrepreneurial spirit 18:00 – The “ice cream idea” 20:44 – Being healthy in an ice cream world 23:46 – Ben’s travel memories 26:38 – Ben’s craftsmanship in his work 29:35 – Company values 30:54 – Ben meeting his cofounder 33:10 – How the company began 36:21 – Writing initial business plan 42:09 – Logo, branding and naming 45:55 – Tactically building your team 48:34 – Beginnings of the business 50:25 – Putting the best ingredients into their first chocolate ice cream 55:47 – First real day of business 65:19 – What the business looks like today – 15-25 stores, selling in 1000 stores across 44 states 67:02 – Ben’s thoughts on expansion 70:38 – First year revenue numbers 71:33 – Focus moving forward 73:30 – Working with brother and wife 74:35 – Working with ex-wife 75:42 – Difficulties with raising money 79:18 – Dealing with rejection 80:58 – 20 years from now… 83:45 – Admirable trait: not taking shortcuts 84:54 – Other products for Ben to explore 86:29 – Final remarks and advice