Innovation

Blue Marble Ice Cream practices sustainability in their business model by becoming the only USDA certified organic ice cream brand native to New York City, fairly compensating their farmers, using biodegradable bowls, spoons, cups, and straws, and supporting global communities through their non-profit branch. According to Lora Romano, Blue Marble Ice Cream's Director of Social Responsibility, "Alexis and Jennie, when first founding Blue Marble, knew that they wanted to build a company that promoted responsible business and becoming a positive member of the global community." By going organic, Blue Marble Ice Cream has been able to promote social responsibility while providing additional health benefits compared to other more traditional ice cream brands.

Furthermore, throughout the country, dairy farmers are fighting to be fairly compensated for the products they produce. Blue Marble Ice Cream recognized this issue when it was first founded, and committed to combating the rising costs of running these farms. By promoting organic dairy farming the company is hoping to encourage "small farms and producers...build a solid market for their products. We hope that this encourages others to join them, and as responsible agriculture grows and prospers, so do we all" (www.bluemarbleicecream.com, 2017).

Blue Marble Ice Cream did not just stop there. To make sure every aspect of their company represented sustainability, the company chose to use corn-based biodegradable serveware utensils. Through this business model, Blue Marble Ice Cream has embedded sustainability from the start, and has the opportunity to grow and impact more communities worldwide.

Inspiration

Blue Marble Ice Cream was founded by Alexis Meisen and Jennie Dundas in 2007, in a small shop in Brooklyn, New York. They wanted to create a company that would combine their deep love of ice cream with an urge to try something new. Their original plan was to open up one shop, and return to their respective jobs, however the business took off in ways they could never have imagined. The inspiration behind the name for Blue Marble Ice Cream came from the iconic photograph of Earth from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission to the moon. They chose this name because they felt it was symbolic of the values and aspirations they wanted to achieve as a business. According to Lora Romano, Blue Marble’s Director of Social Responsibility, “Alexis and Jennie wanted to embed sustainability and social responsibility before even starting the company”. By embedding sustainability into their company so early on, they have a tremendous opportunity to grow their impact to communities nationally and globally.

Overall impact

Blue Marble Ice Cream’s largest impact stems from the relationship they form with their suppliers, consumers and community. The company works hard to provide responsible consumption of local farmers and suppliers, while also balancing their desire to be a 100% USDA certified organic brand. By thinking about their entire supply chain, and consumers Blue Marble Ice Cream has created and bolstered their community by enabling other businesses to thrive with them. In addition, the company encourages local non-profits that help empower children, such as schools, to contact them if they are having a fundraiser so that they can provide supplies or materials to assist them. This investment makes the community that Blue Marble works in and the company overall more sustainable.

Business benefit

From a business perspective, Blue Marble Ice Cream offers its employees and consumers a purpose behind each scoop of ice cream. By sourcing locally, providing jobs for the local community, and through their non-profit branch, the company is able to overcome the challenges that come with being in the ice cream industry. According to Lora, “The ice cream industry is very competitive, because you have to compete with companies such as Ben and Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs. These companies can make pennies on every pint, and we can’t, but we overcome this by differentiating ourselves as one of the best organic, environmental and socially responsible ice cream out there.” Over the past ten years, Blue Marble Ice Cream has grown from 2 co-founders to 35 employees. In addition, the company is beginning to expand into national retailers, such as Whole Foods, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and more. The steps that Blue Marble Ice Cream has taken to be a sustainable, responsible company have proven to be successful as they are beginning to expand into grocery stores nationally.

Social and environmental benefit

Blue Marble Ice Cream provides societal and environmental benefits in numerous ways. These benefits range from promoting local farmers’ businesses to having all of their products be biodegradable. Additionally, through their non-profit arm, Blue Marble Dreams, the company helps establish ice cream stores to empower vulnerable communities. As of now the company has established two stores, one in Rwanda and one in Haiti. The store in Rwanda began in 2010, and is a fully self-sustaining enterprise operated by a cooperative of women drummers from Butare, Rwanda. Blue Marble is able to help global communities thrive by establishing stores like these that gather supplies from local farmers and empower women. The company’s impact both locally and globally is what makes Blue Marble Ice Cream so unique.

Interview

Lora Romano, Director of Social Responsibility