Nebraska Friends Ship Customizable Ice Cream Pints Nationwide
In 2007, friends Becky App and Abby Jordan spotted a gap in the online gift market: People could send their loved ones flowers, candy, and baked goods — but not ice cream. Sensing an opportunity, they launched a unique new business — which they named eCreamery — offering personalizable gourmet ice cream pints that could be ordered online and cold-shipped as gifts for birthdays and special occasions. An appearance on Shark Tank brought the new business major exposure — Mark Cuban called the two friends “ice cream innovators” — and the business took off.
Today, Omaha-based eCreamery is a thriving business shipping over 400,000 pints each year and serving customers at its flagship ice cream parlor. The company offers themed gift packages, customizable pints, and monthly subscriptions, and started a fundraising program that helps support schools and nonprofits.
From the beginning, eCreamery has used digital tools to reach customers. The bulk of their revenue — 90 percent — comes from online sales made through their Shopify-powered website and Amazon. Abby and Becky also use digital ads to connect with customers, and say data-powered analytics tools help them understand their customers and make smart adjustments to their offerings. “Google Analytics helped us optimize our website and even see which flavors people were searching for — like butter brickle, which is popular in the Midwest, and peppermint stick, which we added based on those insights,” says Abby.
eCreamery has grown and thrived thanks to digital tools, making Becky and Abby vocal advocates for smart, balanced policies that help small businesses succeed in today’s digital economy. They’re concerned that overbroad policy proposals could make it harder for small businesses like theirs to use valuable data- and AI-powered tools to find customers, compete with bigger players, and keep growing. “Lawmakers might think they’re going after Big Tech,” Becky says. “But it’s often small businesses like ours that get caught in the crossfire.”
Learn more about eCreamery at https://ecreamery.com/.
