Camille’s Ice Cream: Smiles Stemming from Struggle

LAUREN KAMINSKI Everyone deals with obstacles in a different way and many choose sweets as the road to happiness when life has them down. After 25 years of operating health clubs, Rome Gregario’s wife was faced with breast cancer, and he began searching for a new business venture. One day after chemotherapy, the couple stopped into a favorite old-fashioned ice cream shop that dipped vanilla ice cream bars into chocolate before rolling them in peanuts. This experience was coupled with the family’s memories from Italy. Seeing gelato on a stick as up-and-coming in European markets, Rome recognized the specific ice cream bars as an “old-fashioned concept in a fashion forward environment.” The idea stuck to make ice cream as decadent and attractive in taste and looks as the Italians were doing it, so after completing some research, Rome realized no one was offering a system to make homemade ice cream bars. In November of 2010, Camille’s Ice Cream was born, as they looked to fill a niche in the frozen deserts industry. Named after their only daughter, Rome and his wife were determined to create a business concept that was family-oriented, makes people happy, emphasizes affordability and simple enough for the anyone to run. During a booming frozen yogurt phase, Camille’s offers key important differences including portion control (which caps prices) and variety. The bars are made fresh daily and range from ice cream to yogurt to non-dairy fruit options totaling nearly 50 different flavors. Once picking your base flavor from the freezer cabinet, the “BARista” will roll it and dress it in your favorite toppings. A fan favorite flavor includes a Red Velvet bar dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in crushed Oreo cookies. “If it can be crushed, it can be served,” Rome mentions, elaborating that wasabi nuts or habanero flakes could make the lineup one day. “Pretty much the sky is the limit and we can try anything,” he added. Camille’s differentiates themselves from the rest of the frozen industry in multiple ways. One includes the ability for Camille’s machines to stuff the bars with caramel, strawberry or marshmallows, to name a few options. To encourage new flavor tastings when customers come into a location, the stores offer a flight of three mini bars to try multiple flavors at a time to really hone in on what one prefers. The menu offers suggested flavor combinations, but they encourage guests to get creative and pick whatever they want. And the price point is sweet, with a fully dressed bar selling for about $4, parents do not have to worry about a bucket of frozen yogurt and toppings that will not end up getting eaten. In addition to a huge variety of options, all from the convenience of one machine capable of producing hundreds of bars in under an hour and as little as 15 minutes — there is additional flexibility in size of the location.  From storefronts to kiosks, Camille’s Ice Cream is perfect for malls or sporting event arenas. With three established stores and two in the pipeline in Texas, Camille’s is looking to blanket the entire state. The brand is also eyeing other Southern states including Florida, Georgia and California. The brand’s International footprint far outreaches the US, with more than 100 locations in the works with master franchisees in the Middle East and India.  The future looks scrumptious for Camille’s Ice Cream.