Halo Top Creamery is an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

company and

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

sold in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Austria, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The brand is marketed as a lower-calorie alternative, partially substituting sugar with

stevia Stevia () is a natural sweetener and sugar substitute derived from the leaves of the plant species ''Stevia rebaudiana'', native to Paraguay and Brazil. The active compounds are steviol glycosides (mainly stevioside and rebaudioside), which h ...

, a plant-based sweetener, and

erythritol Erythritol is an organic compound, a four-carbon sugar alcohol (or polyol) with no optical activity, used as a food additive and sugar substitute. It is naturally occurring. It can be made from corn using enzymes and fermentation. Its formula i ...

, a sugar alcohol. Founded in 2011 by former attorney Justin Woolverton, it is now owned by

Wells Enterprises Wells Enterprises, Inc. is an American food company and is the largest family-owned and managed ice cream manufacturer in the United States, based in LeMars, Iowa. It is the maker of Blue Bunny ice cream. Wells is the second largest ice cream m ...

History

The ice cream brand was founded around 2011 by former attorney Justin Woolverton of

Latham & Watkins LLP Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2021, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the worl ...

. Woolverton had begun making ice cream in his own kitchen with the goal of reducing his consumption of carbohydrates and refined sugars. In the early stages of Halo Top, Woolverton continuously experimented, tweaking and improving the ingredients for over a year. In order to create a long-lasting formula that could sustain shipment through the supply chain, Woolverton went to

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

Dairy Innovation Institute, where he was able to refine and polish the formula with a contract manufacture. The company describes its product as the first ever "lifestyle" ice cream that can be eaten daily without overwhelming a typical caloric intake diet, but nutritionists have expressed that "'just because it's a slightly better choice does not mean that it is a good choice.'" Halo Top launched in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on June 15, 2012, and annual sales grew up around 2,500% during 2016 and continued to increase in 2017, despite a retail price of $5 per pint. In July 2017, Halo Top became the best-selling ice cream pint at grocery stores in the United States, surpassing in popularity the

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

and

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, Ne ...

brands, which previously held that distinction for years. By September of 2017, it had grown to 50 employees and was sold throughout the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. By 2017, it had grown to 50 employees. Also in 2017, Halo Top won several international prizes, including a
Institute of Taste Test Award
a Lausanne Index Clean Food Prize, and it was named "Food Disruptor of the Year" by Food Dive and one of The 25 Best Inventions of 2017 by

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

. However, 2017 proved to be the peak of Halo Top's sales, whose dollar value declined for each of the ensuing four years. The decline was attributed in substantial part to competition from major brands as well as

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

products which made similar lower-Calorie, lower-sugar products. Additionally, during the first year of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, consumers began to shift away from lower-calorie ice cream. Halo Top sales fell the most rapidly of all ice cream brands, even as ice cream sales as a category rose, led by high-fat "premium" brands such as Magnum and

. The company was run by Woolverton and Doug Bouton, president and COO. Woolverton met Bouton, another former attorney, in an amateur basketball league. On September 9, 2019 Halo Top announced sale of its US operations to

for an undisclosed amount. It has spent the ensuing years reformulating the low-calorie line, beginning with replacing spray-dried ultrafiltered

milk protein Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

s with liquid ultrafiltered milk, which is more expensive but which reduced what many consumers found to be the product's excessive density, improved the texture, and allowed it to mix more smoothly with the other ingredients, leading to a

mouthfeel Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. Mouthfeel is ...

that is even closer to regular full-fat, full-sugar ice cream.

Ingredients

Halo Top's ingredients are relatively low in calories and sugar and high in protein and fiber. Halo Top is a mixture of eggs, milk, and cream, like other ice cream brands, but is distinct due to its substitution for sugar. Halo Top uses organic

, a plant-based sweetener, and

, a sugar alcohol, to substitute sugar in their ice cream. Each pint ranges from 240–360 calories. The ingredients used to make Halo Top ice cream include: *

Skim milk Skimmed milk (British English), or skim milk (American English), is made when all the milkfat is removed from whole milk. It tends to contain around 0.1% fat. Background Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommended ...

, eggs,

, prebiotic fiber, milk protein concentrate, cream, organic cane sugar, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors, sea salt, organic

leaf, organic carob gum, organic

guar gum Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan polysaccharide extracted from guar beans that has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in food, feed, and industrial applications. The guar seeds are mechanically dehusked, hydrated, mil ...

The nutritional value of a pint of vanilla Halo Top ice cream is: * 240 calories * 8 grams of fat * 24 grams of protein * 20 grams of fiber Halo Top offers an array of flavors, including dairy-free and vegan flavors. Consumers can also suggest new flavors online for the company team to consider bringing to market. In Canada, although the ingredients lists are very similar to those in the U.S., all varieties of Halo Top are labelled as

frozen dessert Frozen dessert is a dessert made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes even solids. They may be based on flavored water (shave ice, ice pops, sorbet, snow cones), on fruit purées (such as sorbet), on milk and cream (most ice creams), o ...

s, not as ice cream, due to differences in labelling requirements.

Variations

Halo Top ice cream is available in dairy pints, dairy-free pints, keto pints, pops, and mini pops. The original pops were first introduced in February 2019 and included the following flavors: Mint Chip, Peanut Butter Swirl, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Strawberry Cheesecake. Each pop contains only 50–60 calories. In May 2020, Halo Top released a larger version of the pops that contain 90–110 calories each. The original pops are now called Mini Pops and the larger versions are Pops. The larger Pops are available in the following flavors: Brownie Batter, Dark Chocolate Caramel, Mint Chip, Sea Salt Caramel, and Strawberry Swirl.

Locations

In 2018, Halo Top opened three "Scoop Shop" locations in

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Westfield Topanga Westfield Topanga & The Village is a shopping mall in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It spans and houses anchor stores Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's, and Target. History Opened on February 10, 1964, Topanga Plaza ...

Canoga Park Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and t ...

; at The Grove; and in

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

. These Scoop Shop locations offer soft serve, scoops, sundaes, and sandwiches with various toppings to choose from. The company closed all three on October 28, 2019.

History

Ingredients

Variations

Locations

See also

References

Further reading