American Honey Creamery

M:

At a recent market, we fell in love with a gorgeous food truck – the home to American Honey Creamery. The owners, Mindy and Ali, are young entrepreneurial souls with incredible taste buds bringing homemade ice cream to our local area.

Before diving in to taste an array of creamy flavors, we sat down with Mindy and Ali to ask them a few questions about their sweet business.

Q: What inspired you to start American Honey?

We were inspired to start American Honey because we are a 5th generation dairy farm family from a very small rural New England town. Every day, we see the struggle farmers have to endure and all the hard work it takes to stay afloat, so we wanted to create a way to make an awesome product utilizing all the local goods we have around us!

Q: Why a food truck? How is it different than owning a store front?

We decided on the food truck because we’re new to this area, and it is a good way for us to explore the area and interact with our customers! We have met so many amazing people just from conversations that have started with them asking us about the truck!

It’s different from a brick & mortar store location in the sense that it drives you to engage with everyone! In brick & mortar, a little marketing and a good location can go a long way. But with the truck, talking to people to get your name out there and find new locations and events is key!

Q: What makes your ice cream unique?

Our ice cream is unique because we source everything from ingredients right around us! All of our milk comes from local Florida dairy co-ops, any baked good mix-ins come from Cookie 911 out of Arcadia. It’s a small batch cookie business with an owner who is just as sweet as her product!

If we do anything with produce, we’ll drive right to the source. For example, when our Plant City Strawberry or Bumbleberry is on the menu, we’ll take a morning to drive up to Plant City and buy flats of berries from local farm stands.

I think our favorite part of this business is that we know where each ingredient is coming from and we can support as much local small business as possible!

In addition, many of our ice cream flavors are based off of Country Music songs or themes, like our “Country Roads” or “Boot Scootin’ Bourbon.” We have so much fun coming up with ways to tie them all together!

Q: What are each of your favorite flavors?

It’s so hard to pick one favorite, but for Mindy definitely either our Coffee Oreo or American Honey- which is our original sea salt, vanilla & honey.

Ali is obsessed with our Late Night Snack- a vanilla ice cream with thick caramel swirls, crunchy butter pretzels, and big chunks of Cookie 911’s chocolate chip cookies!

Q: What is your favorite thing about the Bradenton community?

Our favorite part about Bradenton is that it is an amazing area to start a small business. People are looking for ways to check out more of the “mom and pop” shops and restaurants!

We come from a town with a population of about 3,000 people- so this has been an amazing experience for us! Everywhere you turn there is something new and exciting happening!

M:

Just like Mindy, my two favorite flavors were Coffee Oreo and American Honey. American Honey, the truck’s signature flavor, was creative, original, and creamy.

I’ve started to follow their Facebook page closely, so I can make a stop if the truck is stationed close to me! Make a stop – you won’t be disappointed.

E:

If you’re like me, ice cream trucks (or shops) are usually where I become a spectator rather than a participant. In this case, American Honey provides a flavor of the day of yes, you guessed it, dairy free ice cream! I don’t know if you just did a happy dance along with me, but it’s definitely worth celebrating.

Next time you’re lucky enough to spot the American Honey ice cream truck on a hot Florida day, don’t pass up the opportunity to indulge in a little goodness. Whether it be dairy-free or dairy-full, you’re sure to leave with a smile!

Have you tried American Honey Creamery? Let us know if you make a trip & tell us your favorite flavor in the comments!