Perfect Day and Smitten Ice Cream partner to develop vegan, clean-label ice cream

Photo © iStockphoto.com/OlgaMiltsova

Smitten Ice Cream (San Francisco, CA), a Bay-area ice cream company, has partnered with Perfect Day (Emeryville, CA) to produce animal-free ice cream. Perfect Day, a Nutritional Outlook“Best of the Industry” winner produces dairy proteins using microbial fermentation. This allows for the creation of a clean-label, vegan, lactose-free, and hormone-free ice cream with the ideal taste and texture. The result of this partnership is Smitten’s new product line of clean-label, vegan ice cream called Smitten N’Ice Cream, which delivers the flavor and mouthfeel of traditional ice cream without the coconut or nutty aftertaste.

“We have been working hard and iterating on a vegan product for years, but I refused to put a product on the menu if I didn’t like it as much as our traditional grass-fed dairy flavors,” said Robyn Sue Fisher, founder & chief brrrista of Smitten, in a press release. “That all changed the first time I did a blind taste-test of the Smitten N’Ice Cream made with Perfect Day - it blew my mind. I knew, then and there, we were ready.”

Smitten N’Ice will be the first regionally available commercial product made with Perfect Day’s flora-made dairy protein. Smitten N’Ice Cream is will be available locally in the San Francisco Bay Area via in-store pick-up and delivery platforms , and regionally (Western Region of the U.S.) via Smitten’s newly launched direct-to-consumer platform.

“At Perfect Day, we believe that the future of food is within arm’s reach, and we’re thrilled to work with partners who value not only science and technology, but the experience and taste of delicious dairy products, to empower the future - and now - of food,” said Ryan Pandya, co-founder and CEO of Perfect Day, in a press release. “Smitten’s unique and innovative approach aligns with our commitment to quality and sustainability, while still promising the dairy experience that consumers have come to know and love, so we’re thrilled to join forces and allow consumers nationwide the chance to taste dairy made perfect.”

Smitten N’Ice will be available in Brown Sugar Chocolate, Fresh Strawberry, Coconut Pecan, and Root Beer Float flavors. All four flavors are available for pre-order, with shipping to begin May 15. Smitten’s flagship location in San Francisco’s Mission District is already carrying all flavors and the remaining Northern California shops (Hayes Valley - San Francisco, Pacific Heights - San Francisco, Santana Row - San Jose, and Rockridge - Oakland/Berkeley) are offering two flavors: Brown Sugar Chocolate and Fresh Strawberry.