Less Wasted Avocados and More Ice-cream? Meet Gelavo.
Yes, I’m well aware.
My obsession with smashed avo and triple stacked ice-cream cones have halted my bank savings considerably. And what’s great is that I’m not alone. But how bad exactly is our love for avocados and ice-cream? Well not bad at all it seems.
I sat down with start-up Co-Founder Anthea Rodoreda and several delicious tubs of Gelavo to chat all things avocado and ice-cream. This Perth-based artisanal brand actually started their ice-cream ventures in the science labs at Curtin University. Prompting me to question why my degree hadn’t ever involved studying frozen desserts….
Tasked with the challenge of creating a product that promoted local produce, the food technologist pair decided to tackle the issue of fresh produce waste and use unwanted WA avocados.
You’ve probably always wondered what happens to the fruit that never makes it to the supermarket shelves and into our shopping bags?
Well, aside from being occasionally snapped up by cafes for use in guacamole or prepared avocado dishes, most is actually thrown out with an estimated 25 per cent of fresh produce being tossed.
The big supermarkets refuse to stock ugly fruits which means millions of tonnes of perfectly tasty – but cosmetically imperfect – produce goes to landfill. Anthea explained how an apple could get sunburn, a banana spots when it’s leaves repeatedly brush against it or an avocado grows into an irregular shape or size.
“Fruits are considered second grade quality when an apple gets sunburn, a banana spots when it’s leaves repeatedly brush against it or an avocado grows into an irregular shape or size.”
Whilst growing up, I witnessed the huge amounts of waste on my family’s avocado farm in Manjimup. I saw the avocados which didn’t make the cut because they were perhaps too big or had had their skin burnt after being exposed to fierce winds.
It’s reasons like these which fuel this tiny ice-cream duo to make an impact. In fact, they’ve already saved about one-tonne of perfectly imperfect avocados in their first year of operation, using WA avocados around 70 per cent of the time before supply runs low and importing them from Queensland. They’ve also started using second grade bananas and apples in several of their flavours as well!
Aside from being sustainably sourced, Gelavo is lactose-free and contains high amounts of omega 3 and vitamins C and E without a single animal product in sight.
The vegan flavours, including apple pie, banana, chocolate, original and espresso are made with a secret yet not-so-secret ingredient, avocado, which makes it much creamier than other dairy-free or milk alternatives.
The ingredient list is short and simple. I didn’t even have to google what any of the words meant and that’s the way it should be. The mixture contains between 22 - 25 per cent avocado, depending on the flavour, along with water, sugar, canola oil, and lime juice to stop the fruit browning.
My favourite flavour was definitely chocolate which is unsurprisingly their best-seller but I’m not declaring a winner just yet, with Anthea telling me they’re about to release a limited edition passionfruit flavour at the end of the year. And yes, they’re still sticking to their ethos and incorporating pulp from second-grade passionfruit. Absolutely inspiring.
Want to try it for yourself? Click here for stockists or let us know in the comments below what you think of this new creamy creation!