Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream Company facts for kids
Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream Company is a family business that makes special ice cream flavors. It was started in 1968 by Santo (Sam) Emanuele in Brooklyn, New York. The company is now run by the third generation of his family. They are known for unique flavors like green tea, red bean, ginger, chai latte, and black sesame.
About Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream
Mr. Green Tea ice cream is served in many fancy restaurants across the country. This includes some of the best Japanese restaurants in the world. For example, places like Sushi of Gari and Sushi Yasuda serve their ice cream.
Famous people have also enjoyed Mr. Green Tea. Martha Stewart served it at a holiday party in 2005. In 2009, it was featured at events during the Sundance Film Festival. The company has also won awards, like the Judges' Choice award at the "94.3 The Points Dessert Wars."
Mr. Green Tea has greatly influenced the world of special ice creams. Before them, most ice cream was just vanilla. Santo Emanuele wanted to try new things. He saw that Japanese restaurants were becoming very popular. He thought, "Why not make ice cream flavors for them?" This idea started in the 1970s. Later, other special ice cream brands like Ben & Jerry's also became popular.
How Mr. Green Tea Started
The company is named after its most famous flavor, green tea. Santo Emanuele created this flavor over 40 years ago. He worked hard to make the perfect green tea ice cream recipe. He sold it to Japanese restaurant owners. They helped him make the flavor even better.
Santo had experience in the food business. He wanted to create new ice cream flavors for the growing Japanese restaurants in New York City. This is how green tea, red bean, and ginger flavors were first made. Today, Mr. Green Tea still makes its unique desserts by hand. They use only natural ingredients.
In 2013, a businessman named Marcus Lemonis invested in the company. This helped Mr. Green Tea open a new, modern food factory in New Jersey. This new factory allowed them to do more than just make their own ice cream. They can now help other companies make food products too.
Mr. Green Tea on TV
Mr. Green Tea was shown on the CNBC TV show Crowd Rules on May 14, 2013. Marcus Lemonis, a businessman and star of the show The Profit, saw them on Crowd Rules. He was very impressed by the family. He also loves ice cream and candy.
Marcus Lemonis decided he wanted to work with the Mr. Green Tea family. He asked them to be on his show, The Profit. He said he "fell in love with the family dynamic." This led to a partnership between Marcus Lemonis and Mr. Green Tea. The company was then featured on the final episode of the first season of The Profit.
Marcus Lemonis helped Mr. Green Tea grow a lot. He helped them start making their products in their own factory. This made the company more profitable. Their sales have increased by 50 percent. The company's value has also grown from $12.5 million to $177.5 million. Marcus Lemonis is now connecting Mr. Green Tea with his other food businesses.
