ABC/Eric McCandless
The Frozen Farmer co-founder Katey Evans took their products into the Shark Tank to see if she could score an investment from one of ABC’s “sharks.” The episode airs on Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The Frozen Farmer is a family-run business. It was founded by Katey Evans and her husband Kevin along with Katey’s mother. The product is currently available in Delaware and Maryland.
Evans pitched her business to Sharks Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John and Lori Greiner.
Here’s what you should know about The Frozen Farmer on Shark Tank:
1. The Farm Has Been in Business for 77 Years
Though The Frozen Farmer is a relatively new part of the business, Evans Farms has been around for much longer.
“This year we have been in operation for more than 77 years here at Evans Farms,” Evans told Delaware Public. “We established the Frozen Farmer in 2015 after we had really grown the grocery side of our business at Evans Farms and picked up more and more grocery customers.”
According to the Frozen Farmer website, the brand is a way for Evans’ husband Kevin to preserve his family’s legacy, as he’s a third-generation farmer.
“My mom, Bev, was from a prominent dairy-farming family in Camden, Delaware. My father, Joe, was a second-generation fruit, vegetable and grain farmer. The Frozen Farmer is such a great marriage on both sides of my family’s history tying in the dairy side with the produce side,” Kevin said.
2. The Frozen Products Make Use of Misfit Fruit
The Frozen Farmer makes use of the fruits that don’t look the prettiest and would be rejected by supermarkets. At one point prior to 2015, Evans and her husband Kevin realized that too much food was going to waste.
“So we really kind of scratched our heads at what to do with all this misfit fruit that ws perfectly good – it just didn’t look perfectly good – and so we came up with the idea of making sorbet,” Evans said.
All the products are made from local ingredients from Bridgeville. Evans told Cape Gazette that more than 20 percent of fruits and veggies in America do not make it off the farm since they’re not perfect enough for supermarket use. The Frozen Farmer is a way to lower that number.
3. They Make Ice Cream and “Nice Cream”
The Frozen Farmer sells more than just regular ice cream. Now, they make a full line of ice cream, dairy, free, gluten-free and fat-free sorbet, along with their “nice cream,” which is described as a unique blend of ice cream and sorbet.
Making ice cream runs in the family. Evans’ mother, Jo Ellen, left a lifelong career in accounting to open The Frozen Farmer with Kevin and Katey. She said that making ice cream is a passion for her.
“When Katey told me about the idea of creating fresh-from-the-field ice cream, ‘nice’ cream and sorbet, I knew I had to be involved.”
4. The Ice Cream is Available at Restaurants and Supermarkets
Though the product is not available online, it is currently being sold in 200 grocery stores including Giant Foods, Shop Rite and Redner’s Warehouse Markets. It is also available to purchase at 12 local restaurants and at a roadside creamery.
They also allow schools to purchase their sorbet. As a “farm to school” partner with nearby school districts, the sorbet meets the standards for the Smart Snacks in Schools national program, which allows schools to purchase and serve the sorbet to students.
The farm also has a mobile food truck to service off-site fairs, festivals, private events, parties and weddings.
5. The Owners Attended Ice Cream University
After deciding to start the company, Evans and her mother attended Ice Cream University, which is where they learned from ice cream guru Malcolm Stogo. He taught them how to make their homemade super-premium ice cream as well as their sorbet.
“We took my passion for ice cream and combined it with the experience Evans Farms has in homegrown produce to make ‘nice cream,’ a product that tastes like traditional ice cream, but with less fat, lower lactose and more locally grown fruit for added nutritional content,” Momma Jo said. “All of our fruit based confections pack a hidden punch of vitamins and nutrients because they contain real fruit.”
They dream up new recipes each week with some of the more exotic flavors available including black raspberry cheesecake, peanut butter and jelly and Peppermint Candy Cane.
The Frozen Farmer pitch will air on Shark Tank on Friday, March 27, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Tune in to see if they score a deal with an investor.
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