How Paul's Homemade Ice Cream is churning up Jozi's dessert scene

From making ice cream for friends, to launching four Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream stores in Sandton, Rosebank, Hyde Park and now Parkhurst, it's fair to say that Paul Ballen has come a long way.

Despite growing from a one-man show to a business that now employs around 50 people, Paul’s been careful to preserve his product’s “home-made” feel.

Most notably, the ice cream is still handmade in the main Orange Grove kitchen, and Paul trains everyone personally. “We like to say we’ve taken Paul and multiplied him,” says marketing manager Julie Farrell.

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Paul is still heavily involved in the day-to-day visiting of different stores, listening to customers and coming up with new flavours. The business also preserves its creative and experimental roots through “content creation days”, where the staff take time away from running the start-up to play with new flavour combinations and concepts.

So along with classic, can’t-go-wrong options like Madagascan vanilla or a chocolate, Nutella and Oreo combo, you can also choose from more adventurous flavours with ingredients like birthday cake, hot cross buns, white rabbit sweets and even Earl Grey tea.

The brand’s success fits with the global trend of “real food”, so the ice cream contains real milk, real cream and real egg yolks and no artificial flavourants. Julie notes that the growth of the gourmet coffee movement in South Africa has also driven consumers to choose other quality food products.

Each of Paul’s stores has a unique signature look. So while the Sandton store, for example, is a small roadside kiosk, the larger Parkhurst store is more of a dessert parlour with seating space a menu of sundaes, waffles and milkshakes in addition to ice cream.

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They’ve also collaborated with local artists in the store decor, so the walls in the Parkhurst store are adorned with artist Helga Malan’s illustrations, while the Hyde Park store features playful designs from Joburg street artist Karabo Poppy Moletsane.

Where to from here? “We’re definitely a Joburg brand,” says Julie. For now, the focus is on solidifying the impact here, supporting small businesses by using local suppliers and strengthening community ties. Part of the strong customer loyalty comes through the business’s social media presence – first Facebook, and later Instagram – which has also proven to be a crucial testing channel. “A lot of what we put onto social media drives what we put in stores,” says Julie. “We test people’s reactions on it, and that informs what we do.”

This was originally published in one of the Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Property and Lifestyle guides. Visit Yourneighbourhood.co.za, like YourNeighbourhoodZA on Facebook and follow YourHoodZA on Twitter.