It’s a big day for ice cream lovers!
Leona’s Ice Cream, the super-premium Pittsburgh-based ice cream company that’s known for their stellar ice cream sandwiches, is introducing pints to their product lineup.
Co-owner Katie Heldstab says that five flavors will be offered initially: Chocolate, Vanilla, Coffee, Cinnamon Oatmeal Lace and Fresh Mint Chocolate.
“We started thinking about five flavors to start with that we could produce year-round,” Heldstab says. “Coffee is one that always sells out immediately – we use Zeke’s Royal Blue Blend, and I love having a partnership with a local company. Cinnamon with Oatmeal Lace is our best-selling sandwich, so we knew we had to make that into a flavor. And with our Fresh Mint Chocolate, we use all fresh mint leaves, which gives it a really clean, fresh flavor.”
All five flavors, like all of the ice cream products that Leona’s produces, are lactose-free and made with local dairy.
Heldstab and co-owner Christa Puskarich also created some unique packaging for their containers, which are pint-sized boxes.
“The retailers that carry us are all small, independently-owned stores, and we wanted to figure out a way to maximize the space that we take up, since there’s so little freezer space to work with,” Heldstab says. “A square box allows us to fit more on the store shelves, and not have any wasted space.”
The box design is also reminiscent of ice cream packaging of the past.
“Remember those old half-gallon rectangle ice cream containers that used to be in the grocery stores? This is like that. It’s a little bit about the ice cream, and a little bit of nostalgia,” says Heldstab.
Leona’s Ice Cream pints will be offered at select restaurants and retailers. The first batch will be available on Friday at 52nd St. Market, Bryant Street Market, Feast on Brilliant, Sunny Bridge Natural Foods and The Food Shoppe.
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