Miscellaneous
How To Cater To An Underserved Market With the help of a Kickstarter campaign, a personal investment, and the tutelage of esteemed Ice Cream University founder, Malcolm Stogo, Valerie Ward and her co-founder started Sweet Ritual. At the time it was the only vegan ice cream shop in Austin. Seven years later, Sweet Ritual remains out in front of Austin’s dairy-free movement, having outgrown its storefront twice, and with the largest shop yet set to open in December. “Everyone deserves ice cream and we’ve had grown men cry when they get their first banana split that they hadn’t been able to have in 20 years. That’s why we call it Sweet Ritual. Ice cream becomes a way to mark memories,” Valerie said. With history in the local ice cream scene, Valerie has no shortage of operational experience. Her business partner, Amelia Raley, brought her own personal recipes along with her to Sweet Ritual. Together, they work in harmonic tandem, both having found their business specialties as time has passed. In this episode of Voices of Impact, Valerie talks about tapping into an underserved market. We discuss nostalgic products, sharing responsibilities with a co-founder, and finding a harmony between work and vision. Valerie also shares how Sweet Ritual was able to grow out of two locations in under seven years.