Kari Crowe-Seher has made the commitment that your taste of local fresh dairy MELT Ice Creams will become “the best five minutes of your day.” The reason: MELT offers artisan ice cream that stands out from all others.
In Kari’s words at the Top 100 event: “When you reach across that counter to receive your MELT Ice Creams flavor, we wanted to create a place where your problems MELT off your shoulders. We wanted to create a place where people can experience joy and moments with their children, and we did that through MELT.”
Opening in 2014, Kari saw an unmet market niche for a premium, all-natural ice cream produced in small batches.
She insisted on the small batches because the ice cream was always fresh rather than being scooped from a two or five-gallon drum. Kari also elevated the customer experience by creating ice cream flavors made with a higher percentage of butterfat to deliver a depth of creaminess unlike any other ice cream.
Every batch is made by hand, and the cookies are baked in-store with the very best ingredients the MELT team can get their hands on.
Crowe-Seher continues to prove that the positive experience begins when the customer enters through the front door and notices the clean, fresh aroma and the spotlessly clean counter.
And the flavors!
MELT offers promotional LTO (Limited Time Only) flavors such as Girl Scout Cookie, Brooklyn Blackout Cake, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl, and Tiramisu. “Always Flavors” include Beans (Vanilla Beans!), Cookie Crush, Strawberry Buttermilk, Salt Lick, Peanut Butter Explosion, and Sweet Cream.
“We found ourselves selling out of product faster than we ever imagined,” said Kari. “It was time to decide whether to stay small or determine how to scale the operation and expand and to commit to that decision.”
Crowe-Seher and her team chose growth, which has led the small shop at 1201 Magnolia to become the flagship while new Fort Worth locations are now open in Sundance Square and Mule Alley, and the Dallas location opened in the Bishop Arts District.
Customers also find MELT Ice Creams at special events throughout Fort Worth and in Whole Foods grocery stores.
To accommodate the rapid growth, Kari relocated all product preparation and innovation to the former O.B. Macaroni plant just west of I-35 in downtown Fort Worth. The enlarged commissary offers a complete test kitchen area in addition to the production area.
Four years into the life of her company, Kari attended the highly-respected James Beard Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, which elevated her vision for what MELT Ice Creams can become – not only as a product but also as a culture example for how a small enterprise can motivate and energize its team.
The MELT family plays together with everything from pickleball to team pottery classes, in keeping with Kari’s goal: “I want to create a legacy that celebrates our team and our community and creates joy!”