Cool Comfort

Cool Comfort

A doctor’s office should be the last place you’d expect to get premium ice cream, but Jon Gordon’s doctor wants to sell America’s favorite dessert from a freezer in his office. Mind you, this is the same doctor who in August 2006 warned Gordon his glucose level was “through the roof ” and that he had to stop eating a pint a day of the cold stuff or he’d wake up in the morning with Type 2 diabetes.

Unable to find a sugar-free ice cream (even “no sugar added” brands carried 3 to 7 grams of sugar), Gordon “settled for” consuming a carton of sugarfree Popsicles every night. But that didn’t satisfy the commercial real estate broker. In December 2006, he announced to his wife, Candy, that he had gone online and ordered a commercial ice cream maker.

“Selfishly, this was only about me satisfying my needs of having a sugarfree ice cream whenever I wanted it,” he says. Only later did he decide to produce a commercial product. The rollout for Clemmy’s premium ice cream has just begun, starting with such major markets as Kroger/ Ralphs, Albertsons, Stater Bros., Wal-Mart, and Sam’s Club in the West and Southwest, continuing through Texas to the Southeast and up to the Carolinas, as well as in Chicago and New York.

Gordon began experimenting in his Rancho Mirage kitchen after purchasing all the major artificial sweeteners on the market. “Across the board, they had an aftertaste,” he says. Then he came across a natural sweetener called xylitol, made from birch bark and fibrous vegetables and fruits. Although it was expensive, Gordon purchased it 30 pounds at a time. Meanwhile, he was reading articles about the over-consumption of sugar among the populace; that’s when he pursued developing an allnatural, sugar-free, premium ice cream for the mass market.

“That machine must have been going Sundays 12 to 14 hours a day,” Gordon says. “I was getting to bed at 3 a.m., sleeping three to four hours.

“At the end of February, I had a great-tasting vanilla. Shortly thereafter, I hit the coffee [flavor]. Chocolate really became a nemesis. … It would freeze overnight like a brick or would become a pudding.” Finally, in March, he succeeded with chocolate.

Along the way, Gordon sought expert advice. He called the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, which teaches ice cream science. He also called a friend who is a lawyer in Los Angeles and got the ice cream (named Clemmy’s after his late cat) trademarked. Then he looked for a manufacturer.

“On a whim, I decided to call Dreyer’s in Oakland and told them I had a frozen dessert product.” Two weeks later, the woman with whom he had spoken told him to expect a call from Yarnell Ice Cream Co. in Arkansas. Gordon recalls Christina Yarnell, whose family had been making ice cream for 75 years, told him, “You’ve done something we haven’t been able to do. All the big companies have tried.”

Within two weeks, Gordon was at Yarnell with his ice cream. The Yarnells were impressed and agreed to produce Clemmy’s, though Gordon is already looking for a second manufacturer. “I know I am going to need more capacity,” he says. He could be right; he’s lined up interviews on Oprah and the three major network morning shows.

“Ninety percent of Americans eat ice cream,” Gordon says. “Ice cream in America is a $22 billion industry; worldwide it’s $59 billion.” Gordon aims to tap into that market with quart-size containers (suggested retail price: $5.99). He’s starting with five flavors (vanilla bean, coffee, chocolate, toasted almond, and chocolate mint swirl) and has a sixth (cinnamon pecan) in the wings. He also has a line of novelties — fudge and ice cream bars, sandwiches, and cups — that he expects to hit stores this summer.

“We believe this will be a great alternative for people that eat Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs,” Gordon says, noting that his super-premium ice cream contains 25 to 30 percent fewer calories. Of course, even sugar-free, lower-calorie ice cream can pack on pounds. Gordon swims 20 to 40 laps in the summer and walks in the winter to maintain a 164-pound frame.

Gordon believes so firmly in his ice cream that he hired a CEO (someone who previously ran the frozen-food division of ConAgra), lined up national sales and marketing representation, and took on a major infusion of capital in January.

Clemmy, who lived almost 15 years and whose ashes are in a box in Gordon’s office, would no doubt be proud to know his name and picture grace cartons of what could become America’s favorite dessert.

— Janice Kleinschmidt