Frozen Treats Finally Grow Up



The staff of Wise Acre, Inc., traveled from their small coastal town of Blue Hill, Maine to introduce their unique frozen treats to New York City at the annual Fancy Food Show. New Yorkers "get" Wise Acre's Frostbites and Frosteas, which are all-natural frozen treats, sweetened only with unrefined sweeteners such as wild honey or organic maple syrup. Frosteas contain organic, freshly brewed teas, such as: Jasmine Green Tea, Herbal Teas, and the highly-caffeinated Yerba Mate from South America. While many people think "Wise Acre" refers to "smart agriculture", New Yorkers immediately understand it's about having an irreverent attitude, otherwise known as being a "smart ass".

Two years ago, Wise Acre's president, Jim Picariello, started his fledgling business out of his kitchen and delivered his frozen treats to a small handful of co-ops and a farmers market. Since then Wise Acre has exploded into East Coast distribution by United Natural Foods and Sure Winner Foods, and early acceptance into East Coast chains such as Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Hannaford Supermarkets. "We're currently working on the Midwest," Jim said, "The West Coast is only a few years away."

"After tasting our Frosteas," said Jim, "New Yorker's first say, 'Wow!'. And then, 'This idea is stupidly obvious. Why haven't I seen a product like this before" Jim believes it's the established psychology of the frozen snack isle: Make confections flavored for kids and the parents will eat them too. Jim's attitude is: Take back the frozen dessert isle and make products for adults. As it turns out, kids love their Wise Acre treats as well.

Wise Acre Frostbites and Frosteas are packaged frozen in plastic sleeves and enjoyed 'squeeze up' style. They are sold as mix-and-match singles so customers are allowed to try and choose the flavors they want without having to purchase an entire box. The suggested retail price of Wise Acre treats are $1.49 each. Why aren't Frostbites and Frosteas found unfrozen on grocery shelves Jim answers, "Oh, you mean next to the shelf-stable ice cream Our ingredients are fresh, without preservatives, and immediately frozen."

The official mottos of Wise Acre are: "No Fruit!" and "It must taste great in Gin or Vodka". By using natural sweeteners such as honey and maple, which are subtly different season to season and harvest to harvest, every freshly brewed batch of Frosteas and Frostbites is an exploration and discovery of unique deliciousness. This flies in the face of a world of standardized and homogenized foods. "What other food companies call 'Quality Control'", Jim says, "we call 'Taste each batch and make sure it tastes awesome enough'."





Frozen Treats Finally Grow Up