Local teen churns out own ice cream company
Grace Connor, like most 17-year-olds, spends a lot of time on her phone, but this Milton Academy senior used hers to jumpstart a lifelong dream of owning a company. Little g ice cream, named for Connor’s preference for the lowercase letter, celebrates its first anniversary this month.
“I like to say I started my business on an iPhone because I spent all my time Googling on my phone, researching and figuring it out,” Connor said. “I always wanted to start a business,” she said while sipping tea at a corner cafe near her parent’s home in the South End. “I’m always trying to dream big.”
In 2015, Connor overcame complications from the removal of a life-threatening tumor at the base of her brain. This setback only fueled Connor’s drive.
“I missed a lot of school, and while I was home, I just made ice cream all the time,” Connor said. “I worked on my recipe a long time,” she said, “using the best ingredients to get the perfect texture, taste, consistency and mouthfeel — then I started making flavors. I put in a lot of mix-ins, but I think the ice cream can stand on its own too.”
Connor develops, mixes, churns and packages her frosty treats at CommonWealth Kitchen in Dorchester — mostly on weekends, she is still in school. She first approached the shared kitchen space at 8 years old, but was turned away because of her age. Connor spent years perfecting her superpremium ice cream bases with 18 percent milk fat and baking for friends and family.
Once Connor reached 16, the minimum required age to work at CommonWealth Kitchen, her father drove her to the building. The door was locked, but she snuck in behind a mailman, offered her elevator pitch to a manager, and was told to return the next day to formally vie for kitchen space alongside other companies.
“I didn’t have a name or a logo,” Connor said. “The next day I just pitched myself and my ice cream flavors.”
Varieties like Snack Attack (caramelized pretzels, potato chips, Ritz crackers, peanut butter cups and M&Ms with a vanilla base), Triple Cookie Dough, Birthday Cake and Coffee & Donuts drew attention and excitement. They are still some of her best sellers.
Throughout the year, Connor learned how to be CEO, COO and CFO of little g ice cream company. She personally developed little g’s logo and packaging, hired a lawyer, acquired permits, bought machinery and a delivery van with her savings, developed a website and learned about food safety.
“Whenever I get over one challenge that was hard before there’s always something else to figure out,” Connor said. Five years from now, she hopes to “get into more stores and take over the ice cream market. Even a year ago, if you told me I’d be here now, I would not believe you.”
One element of the business that doesn’t challenge the teen is social media. Connor credits the exponential growth in sales of little g ice cream to the company’s popularity on those platforms. Out of the company’s roughly 8,500 Instagram followers, 1,300 of them participated in a flavor suggestion contest last month. Four new options were chosen and will debut this month: Puppy Chow (peanut butter ice cream, chocolate peanut butter fudge swirl, pieces of “puppy chow” — a homemade cereal treat, covered in chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar), Go Bananas (brown butter ice cream, banana bread, candied walnuts, chocolate chips), Going to the Circus (animal cracker ice cream, chunks of frosted animal crackers, sprinkles, pink frosting swirl) and Cowboy Cookie (brown butter brown sugar ice cream, oatmeal cookie dough, peanut butter swirl, chocolate chips, coconut flakes).
Little g is sold online at littlegicecreamco.com and goldbely.com, but Connor has her mind set on a new goal — finding the perfect brick-and-mortar location.
“Right now it all gets shipped somewhere or goes on the shelf, and I want to have that connection with people eating it. I would also love to move to my own production facility because I’m really maxing out. I’m kind of overflowing in the shared kitchen space.”
Little g started being introduced into Whole Foods Market locations in the North Atlantic region on Friday. For a list of local retail outlets and a list of flavors, go to littlegicecreamco.com.