Kind Kones - Plant-based Frozen Dessert!
In a world where indulgence often comes at the expense of health or sustainability, Kind Kones is rewriting the rules of dessert. Since its inception in 2017, this visionary brand has transformed the simple joy of ice cream into a movement of kindness—for our bodies, the planet, and the community. What began as a humble experiment in a family kitchen has blossomed into a thriving brand, beloved across Malaysia and Singapore. Kind Kones stands out not only for its mouthwatering plant-based ice creams but also for its unwavering commitment to creating healthier, eco-friendly alternatives without sacrificing flavor. At the helm of this movement is Shubham Sharma, COO of Kind Kones, whose passion for conscious consumption drives the company’s mission. In this exclusive Delivery Rank’s interview, Shubham Sharma takes us behind the scenes of Kind Kones’ delectable journey.
What inspired the creation of Kind Kones, and how has the journey of building a plant-based dessert brand been so far?
Serina Bajaj, Co-founder of Kind Kones, faced lactose intolerance during her pregnancy which sparked a creative culinary journey. This led to inventive, all-natural ice cream recipes crafted in her home kitchen with a trusty ice cream machine.
The journey has been exhilarating so far. From a home kitchen to entering supermarkets, doing international events and running multiple stores, we have come a long way. We faced shelf-life challenges, cost of ingredients are on an all time high, expansion into supermarkets and new territories has been tough. Everyday we are faced with the easy choice: use easier and cheaper ingredients. And everyday, we push through keeping true to our core: Kindness.
"Be kind to yourself, the planet, and others" is a powerful ethos. How do these values shape the way Kind Kones operates daily?
Kindness is embedded in everything we do. It starts with using natural ingredients which are kind to the body and environment. For example, we make our own nut milks instead of commercial ones to ensure purity. Our rainbow sprinkles are specifically sourced from organic sources to avoid as the commercial ones are made with Red Dye 40 which is a known carcinogen and even banned in certain countries.
This focus has helped us serve the first ice creams for many children who can't take traditional artificial ingredients infused ice creams due to multiple dietary intolerances.
Another pillar of kindness is the service. Our goal is to make our customers feel good not only through ice creams but also through our interactions with them. We strive to offer a 5-star service for the price of under $10 and our service ratings on Google are one of the highest in Singapore.
With so many options for plant-based products, how does Kind Kones ensure the quality and uniqueness of its offerings?
That's a challenge we love embracing. Unlike mass ice creams, we do not use any premix base or palm oil to make ice creams. We make our own ice cream base fresh for every batch. It's made using coconut milk, cashew milk extracted from nuts in-house and sometimes oats. Moreover, we do not use refined sugar.
The brand was started by a mom keeping her kids in mind. That's our north star even today. We have an intense screening process for any new flavor we create.
How do you see Kind Kones contributing to the growing movement toward plant-based diets and environmental consciousness globally?
Our mission is to welcome inclusivity. So whether someone is vegan or not, Kind Kones is for everyone. Our focus is more on the clean ingredients while being environmentally conscious. One of the crucial steps is sourcing and hand-crafting ice creams locally to minimise the emissions.
The other step is by working with global brands such as BBC, Ralph Lauren, My Little Pony, Kylie Cosmetics, Burberry and so on who have much larger presence. We partner with bigger brands every season, creating new flavors in-line with their new launches. This is a great synergistic way for a local brand like ours and global brands to collaborate on healthier lifestyle choices.
What’s next for Kind Kones? Are there plans to expand into new markets, introduce innovative flavors, or launch other plant-based products?
Yes we are expanding with more stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and potentially India too. We are also creating new concepts such as 'Domes'-our version of ice cream cakes. We launched the Pistachio Knafeh Dream Dome during Christmas and the next one is an Orange Tiramisu ice cream dome.
The idea is to change the field for ice creams where we don't just elevate ourselves by making ice creams the right way, we also bring interesting concepts for our consumers.
To read more about Kind Kones, please visit https://kindkones.com/