Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Logan Yucha. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Logan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

After graduating from college, I worked in the banking world for a little over 5 years – most recently as a branch manager of a regional bank. I enjoyed my time working within finance, but I was always really inspired by the entrepreneurial clients that I worked with and that led me to wanting to become an entrepreneur myself. My fiance, Lea, and I had read about New Zealand style ice cream in a New York Times article and were curious to learn more as we had never had it before. This discovery happened to occur before a trip to Denver where we were able to try this tasty treat for the first time and we pretty much immediately decided we needed to bring the concept to Nashville’s growing and vibrant food scene. We started researching the concept and after about a year, we decided to dive-in and go for it with Kiwi Scoops! We are the first and only ice cream shop offering this style in Tennessee.

Logan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Kiwi Scoops is the output of Lea and myself using the skills we developed in our previous jobs and coming together to build something new and unique. I have always loved cooking, baking, grilling, smoking, etc. ever since I received an Easybake oven for Christmas as a kid, and I enjoyed my time working in restaurants during my college years. It took about a year of research before actually deciding that this was something we wanted to move forward with, but once we made that decision, it has been a blur. Looking back on the previous 6 months, it’s kind of unbelievable how much has happened and how much progress we’ve made.

Lea is a Belmont University alum who works in the entertainment industry as a digital manager. She is the brain behind the brand of Kiwi Scoops, including the website, the logos, the trailer wrap, the socials – she’s a marketing guru that’s responsible for bringing the concept to life. My previously mentioned background helped me understand the behind-the-scenes aspects of running a business and the many different hats one must wear as a business owner.

We researched everything we could and officially dove-in when we decided to start the months-long process of importing one of these New Zealand ice cream machines (the Little Jem Elite blender) to Nashville in summer 2024. We bought a used fully-outfitted food trailer last fall, and when our ice cream machine finally arrived shortly thereafter, we spent the late fall and winter months testing our products, developing the brand, making connections with event coordinators, and obtaining all required permits/licenses to operate in Nashville and surrounding areas. We officially opened this past May starting with pop-ups at local events, and starting recently, we’ve set up shop at our Kiwi HQ in Donelson – a regular spot where you can find us whenever we are not at an event Wednesday-Sunday! It’s been a hectic first season, but we are thrilled with the response so far and extremely proud to have been the first ones to bring this concept to Nashville. We plan to finish this season strong, and recoup during the cold months while preparing an even-busier event lineup for next season before (hopefully!) starting the process of setting up a brick-and-mortar.

For those unfamiliar, New Zealand style real fruit ice cream combines premium ice cream with frozen fruit in a specialized ice cream blender to create a fruity, s0ft-serve like treat. Customers can choose 1 or 2 fruits to blend into their premium vanilla ice cream, and we have a slew of toppings where you can really get creative. We carry 4 fruit options at a time – always strawberry, banana, and peach with a rotating 4th option – which caters to all fruit preferences, whether you want a tropical concoction such as mango real fruit ice cream topped with toasted coconut flakes or something indulgent like mixed berry topped with Ghirardelli chocolate sauce.

Depending on the fruit options that day, we also offer a few ‘Kiwi Specials’ at a time. These are our most popular items as they are as pretty as they are tasty. They combine New Zealand style with indulgent American flavors to create something special. Our Berry Chocolate is the most extravagant chocolate-covered berry you’ve ever had, combining berry real fruit ice cream with oreo crumbles, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. The Caramel Peach Cobbler is our hit of the summer with peach real fruit ice cream. vanilla wafer crumbles, sea salt caramel sauce, and whipped cream coming together to rock your taste buds. And I can’t forget about our PB Nana, the exquisite marriage between banana real fruit ice cream, vanilla wafer crumbles, Reese’s peanut butter sauce, and topped with whipped cream. Coming up with these was the tastiest problem we’ve ever solved!

We paired with an established local creamery to source premium, local ice cream. We also offer a handful of traditional ice cream flavors in cups, cones or milkshakes for those that prefer a more traditional ice cream experience.

Our name Kiwi Scoops refers to the proud nickname of New Zealanders named after the Kiwi bird, a prominent national symbol. However, we do occasionally offer Kiwi real fruit ice cream. :)

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

This is where my banking and financial background really helped me.

1) Seek an additional partner if the initial sum is too large, but be sure they bring more than just money to the table – Kiwi Scoops has 3 co-founders/owners, Lea and myself put up 70% of the initial investment/own 70% of the business and our long-time friend and business partner, Apoorv, invested the remaining 30% and retains the same share of ownership. Bringing on another partner also assisted the overall business with labor, as we are able to run the entire business with us 3 at this point with the occasional extra hand at a huge event.

2) Use Secured Debt if Needed – If you have plenty of cash to start your business, by all means go ahead! For the rest of us, I would not recommend taking on a bunch of unsecured personal loans, business loans, or credit card debt to start a small business. However, if debt is needed, there is a distinction between good debt and bad debt. A term loan for a specific piece of equipment at a reasonable interest rate secured by said piece of equipment? Pretty good debt. Taking on a couple of new credit cards and maxing them out because they are in a 0% interest introductory period to buy a bunch of product with no real business plan or strategy to move forward? Bad debt! Taking a personal loan where the ability for you to make the monthly payment rests solely on the success of the new business you are starting? Scary debt! Using a HELOC to fund a new business as long as you aren’t using a significant portion of your home equity and the monthly payment is within your current budget? Reasonable debt. Limiting risk by securing any needed debt while still maintaining responsibility in the amount of debt being taken is a good strategy for new business owners.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Lea is going to take this one!

A few things have really helped us stand out. First, the product itself is super unique. Most people have never had New Zealand style real fruit ice cream, so it gets people curious. But it goes beyond that. We genuinely care about every customer’s experience, and we try to make each interaction fun, friendly, and memorable.

At Kiwi Scoops, we put a lot of care into the customer experience. From the way we explain what makes our ice cream special to how we interact with each person at the window, we aim to make every visit feel personal. I’m always using my hand fan to play peek-a-boo with the kiddos. It’s those little moments of fun that stick with people and keep them coming back.

Within the vendor and food truck world, partnering with reputable local brands is one of the best ways to make connections and build your own brand. For National Ice Cream Day, we teamed up with Wags and Walks, a dog adoption center here in Nashville, for a pop-up event that was both fun and meaningful. We collaborated on a few Instagram posts that led to a noticeable boost in engagement and new followers. The event was a hit, and we were proud to be part of something that brought the community together in such a positive way.

At the end of the day, we’ve built our name by doing something different and doing it with heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kiwiscoops.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiwiscoops
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiwiscoops
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kiwi-scoops-real-fruit-ice-cream
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KiwiScoopsIceCream