Meet the PhD in Pharmacy Who Built an Organic Ice Cream Brand Powered by the Sun

From “frozen desserts loaded with vegetable oils” to organic bites of deliciousness, entrepreneur Suhas Shetty wanted to change the notion and kind of ice creams available in the Indian market. 

How did he crack the code to achieving taste without the use of refined sugar, chemical preservatives, artificial colours, vegetable oils, or canned fruit? 

Gondh is the answer. The edible gum, Suhas explains, acts like a preservative ingredient. 

“This ingredient is organic and helps us achieve an average shelf life of six to eight months, depending on the flavour,” he shares. Having not had any formal background in the culinary industry — Suhas has a PhD in pharmacy -- and no prior entrepreneurship experience, scaling the business was a challenge. 

But Suhas was hell bent on perfecting the flavours; he turned his gaze from mainstream ingredients to desi milk, mishri (rock sugar), stevia, organic butter and vegetable-extracted colours. Today, the success of the eatery lies in the 75 outlets under Ice Berg Icecreams. 

A poster flavour on the menu is the charcoal one, which creates a striking black-coloured ice cream. 

“We produce the charcoal by burning coconut shells and then using the resulting charcoal as an ingredient in our charcoal ice cream,” Suhas explains. The brand has recently forayed into camel milk ice cream, goat milk ice cream, and donkey milk ice cream.

It is interesting to note that the ice creams under his brand Ice Berg Organic Ice Creams are not just thrilling palates, but doing their bit to keep the planet safe as well; his factory in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, runs on 95 per cent solar energy. With a turnover of Rs 25 crore, Suhas is building a delicious empire.