JUST THE BIZZ:

ICE CREAM IS ALWAYS ON THE MENU WHEN IT’S MADE THE WAY KARIN LOOTS OF THE ICE CREAMERY MAKES IT.

Ice cream? Of course! The Ice Creamery’s handmade ice cream is Banting and diabetic friendly

Karin Loots, a self-proclaimed ice cream addict, started producing ice cream at home after switching to low carb three years ago. She got creative when sugar was no longer an option and today produces this guilt-free treat in amazing flavours. ‘When we started eating low carb, it became a major problem because we didn’t want to eat sugar or anything artificial any longer. I experimented with Banting ice cream recipes and bought a small ice cream machine to churn for the family,’ she says.

Her family found it so delicious that Karin eventually started selling at the Johannesburg Banting Market, where it was such a hit the first time round that it was sold out by 10am. ‘I needed more outlets, so I became the organiser of the Banting Market in Pretoria!

‘It was a huge success for me, not only in terms of ice cream sales. It’s very rewarding to see that the need for healthy, clean food is being addressed. My business has developed to a point where we now supply more than 20 shops around Pretoria and Joburg,’ she says.

After producing ice cream for more than a year, Karin wanted to expand her knowledge, so she enrolled in a gelato course at the Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy, where she was exposed to a whole new world of producing the best gelato. The strangest flavour Karin has ever tasted was during that ice cream course: ‘Bluecheese gelato! Quite an interesting taste, but I don’t think it would sell in South Africa…’