Capturing Local Tastes with Natural Ingredients
"No One Expected the Ice Cream Shop to Be So Popular"
A Korean woman in her 30s, a Harvard University graduate considered one of the top prestigious universities in the United States, has gained attention for opening an ice cream shop with her mother and achieving an annual sales revenue of $1.86 million (approximately 2.465 billion KRW).
American broadcaster CNBC shared the story of Annie Park (32), who runs an ice cream shop in Washington DC, through its 'Millennial Money' series, which covers successful millennials (born 1981?1996).
Annie Park was born in Seoul and immigrated to Maryland, USA, with her mother in 2000 when she was nine years old. After graduating from high school locally, she attended Boston College. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music and Communication, taught students for a while, then earned a master's degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University, and a master's degree in Policy and Management from Harvard University.
Although she was passionate about studying, Annie Park felt her major did not suit her. One day, her mother proposed starting an ice cream business. Annie’s mother, Sarah, originally ran a small restaurant and had a hobby of making ice cream.
Annie Park said, "Honestly, I wasn’t very interested when I first heard about the ice cream shop," adding, "But it wasn’t a choice whether to help my mother or not. My mother and I are an immigrant family living just the two of us."
In March 2019, they opened the shop named "Sarah’s Handmade Ice Cream" in Washington DC, named after her mother Sarah. Unlike other franchises that use syrups for color and flavor, they used only natural ingredients like strawberries, capturing the local customers’ tastes.
As word of mouth spread locally, customers kept coming. The line of customers continued until the closing time at 9 p.m., and even after closing, they spent busy days making ice cream until 3 a.m. Annie Park said, "No one expected this to happen."
Thanks to this popularity, their sales performance was also good. Last year, their annual sales were $1.86 million, with a net profit of $230,000 (approximately 304 million KRW). They have since opened a second store in Washington DC and plan to open a third store in Maryland by the end of this year.
CNBC highlighted the shop’s unique aspect as its 'marketing cost,' stating, "They did not spend separate costs on marketing. Instead, they increased regular customers by donating ice cream to local nonprofit organizations."
Annie Park said, "None of my experiences were a waste of time," and added, "All my experiences combined have made the ice cream shop successful."
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