Nice Cream – a Locally Made Ice Cream!
Tonight we bring you the first of a two-part story with two enterprising sisters in the south. Over the weekend, we travelled to Hopkins to find out more about a much talked about locally made ice cream brand in that coastal community. There we met Kyra Lewis and Marissa Lewis Robinson. They are sisters who just two years ago bought an ice-cream shop and have grown it into a business that the community is rallying around. And without any experience in the ice cream business, they did a one-week crash course with the former owners and have turned things around for their up-and-coming brand called Nice Cream. Their story is that they use the freshest local ingredients that transform what would be regular ice cream into Nice Cream. Here’s the story of this home-made, Belizean ice-cream based in Hopkins village.
Kyra Lewis, Co-Owner, Nice Cream
“Today, we are going to do some ice cream – we are doing coconut cassava. It is our version of cookies and cream for those who can’t do flour. So, what I do, I just crush it in there. Just like you do with cookies and cream and take your cookies and crush into your ice cream. The cassava gives it the really caramelized flavor.”
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Kyra Lewis is just about done whipping up a fresh batch of coconut cassava ice-cream. It’s one of the flavour-packed, gluten-free, homemade ice creams that pays homage to her Garifuna roots and relies onthe availability of fresh coconuts from their home village of Hopkins. Sisters Kyra Lewis and Marissa Lewis-Robinson bought Nice Cream from an expat couple two years ago. Today, these two entrepreneurs have built this small ice cream business into a flourishing local brand that is enjoyed by Belizeans and visitors alike. Looking back – Kyra knew this is what she wanted to do, even though it came with a little bit of fear.
Kyra Lewis
Kyra Lewis
“I was a little afraid, because I was like how will I do this? How will we venture off on your own and we are like, uh-huh, let’s do this.”
When the Lewis sisters acquiredNice Cream, it was producing seven flavors of ice cream. But as the new owners, they wanted to do more with their business.They have since expanded to twenty flavors of ice creamsall made with fresh local fruits – including seasonal favorites.
Kyra Lewis
“I learnt just the hang of it and then I took it to another level.”
Marissa Lewis-Robinson
Marissa Lewis-Robinson, Co-Owner, Nice Cream
“Experimenting with different flavours; craboo; passion fruit; anything that we could find local.”
Kyra Lewis
“We wanted to make natural, premium ice cream we would use what is around us, natural – guava, and we were just experimenting.”
Andrea Polanco
“What are some of your best sellers, in terms of flavors for your ice cream?”
Marissa Lewis-Robinson
“Our cheesecake; toasted coconut; the coconut cassava.”
Kyra Lewis
“I think all of them are good – (laughs) – they are!”
And from making natural fruits the star of their ice cream products,toinfusing them as ingredients in their specially made waffle bowls to serve their ice creams. Marissa Lewis Robinson, the younger of the two sisters, is serving up freshly made, toasty waffle bowls with gluten-free and dairy-free options made from cassava flour. And it’s all of these delightful concoctions that keep their loyal customers coming back. On Saturday, we met three of their youngest and most faithful patronsenjoying their Nice Cream.
Tyler White
Tyler White, Customer, Nice Cream
“Miss, I get cheesecake because I like the milkiness and it tastes creamy and it would go better with the gummy bears sprinkles. This is the only flavour I get, cheesecake, every time.”
Andrea Polanco
“What do you think about the waffle cone?”
Tyler White
“It’s very good even the cassava waffle cone; home made.”
Mickiyla Martinez
Mickiyla Martinez, Customer, Nice Cream
“I love the ice cream because I love chocolates.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, you like come yah weekends come eat up your ice cream?”
Mickiyla Martinez
“Yes, ma’am.”
Andrea Polanco
“They treat you very special when come dah this spot?”
Mickiyla Martinez
“Yes, ma’am.”
Andrea Polanco
“How yuh eat it so quick?”
Christopher Palacio
Christopher Palacio, Customer, Nice Cream
“Because it is nice, miss.”
Andrea Polanco
“What flavour you get today?”
Christopher Palacio
“Cookies and Cream.”
Andrea Polanco
“Tell me weh you like bout this ice cream shop inna your village?”
Christopher Palacio
“Because I always come buy it and people always come support it.”
And while this trio is likely to enjoy any flavor of Nice Cream before them – these business owners will tell you that while they have made many hits – there may have been a miss or two – but they have taken it all in stride.
Kyra Lewis
“Now, if you see we have over twenty flavours going. Some goes faster than others but we try to keep up if not we say okay we will email you and have your order ready for you. Some people want peculiar flavours but really you will find the weirdest taste and people would say Kyra can you make this for me and I say oh sure. So, I challenge myself in making ice cream. Like one would be like, Kyra, I need a sugar free ice cream, but no sugar. And you be, like, hmmm – but you know, they bring things to you and then you learn too because I learn a lot from my customers. Sometimes you think the weirdest flavours they come up with are the best flavors they come up with.”
Andrea Polanco
“Was there any one that you made and you said, no, let’s scrap this one?”
Kyra Lewis
“We tried a turmeric one – oh my goodness – but you know there were some people who loved it but I thought it was, for lack of a better word, disgusting. So, turmeric was one and people are like when are you making the turmeric and I am like, are you serious?”
For these young entrepreneurs, running their own small business isn’t easy. They do everything in the product development chain – and with two years under their belt, they are still working on getting the Nice Cream brand beyond the parameters of southern Belize. As the owners of Nice Cream, they have solidified themselves as a top ice cream producer in Hopkins and surrounding communities – but owners Kyra and Marissa sayit wasn’t just by village loyalty – they passed the taste test for quality and consistency.
Kyra Lewis
“For the first year, we were feeling ourselves out and we are still feeling ourselves out. We were just going with what they were doing and then eventually we started to add more products to it; now we have more milkshakes, ice cream cakes, and then expanded on the dairy free ice cream because we were introduced to one or two but then we added more of our local flavors into dairy free ice cream too.”
Marissa Lewis-Robinson
“I think the marketing and just being present every single day; challenging ourselves daily; coming up with new ideas. I am like, if this is not working for us let’s do something else; if this is not selling, then let’s sellthis product and I think that is the key to our success in the business.”
Kyra Lewis
“What I have found that is most key is to maintain consistency; consistency in your products. Make sure it is consistent that when people come they will always find the same flavors; they will always taste the same thing and when they come you try to have it.”
It’s safe to say that Nice Cream has found its sweet spot. While Hopkins is known forits beaches, drumming, and fishing – you may want to go ahead and add Nice Cream to that list! Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
To find out more about Nice Cream, you can find them on Facebook and Instagram; you can also call 614-6383 or 637-3933.
