Valentini Ice Cream

“A few years ago the general manager at Versailles wanted guava [ice cream], but he wanted it to taste like he was sitting in a tree in Cuba. And that resonated. That’s what people wanted.” (source below)

Valentini Ice Cream: a sweet success story | MiamiHerald.com: "Over the years, Valentini staked out its small niche in local ice cream parlors by making tropical flavors and other products. Founder Orlando Valentini, a Brazilian, relied on his own Italian roots to make exotic creations like the Cassata Tartufo, which the company still makes by hand. In the 1990s when he retired, Valentini handed control of the company over to his daughter, Lislei Gamarra, and Wright. . . . But the only product it retailed under its own brand was a tropical sherbet. Then a few years ago Gamarra and Wright, who grew up in North Miami Beach in a household run by a Cuban mother, decided they were neglecting their own brand. And their own Latin roots.
“It was always our dream to see our ice cream on the shelf,” he said. So they decided to take the plunge. They slowly began rolling out their Hispanic flavors, competing, it turns out, with major players like Nestles, which launched its short-lived Delicias line in 2009 with flavors including Tres Leches. . . ." (read more at link above)

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