Monica Bhide A Facebook friend, Smita Vasant, whom I do not know personally, is always talking about her wonderful ice-cream. I am shameless so I wrote her and asked her about it. Her flavors instantly made my mouth water – mango, saffron, guava. She told me that she has a wholesale ice-cream business and a shop, Saffron Spot, in California. She sent me some samples and can I just tell you that the ice-cream is some of the best I have ever tasted. My kids did not even want to share! The mango is creamy and guess what? Tastes like mango and not mango flavor!
If you can make it to Saffron Spot, consider yourself lucky!
I asked Smita to tell me a bit about her business: “Several years ago, I began making ice cream at home and in the process enjoyed experimenting with various flavors. Our guests enjoyed the flavors I created, and the idea of a commercial product was born. I named the company and product ‘Neemo’s Exotic Ice Creams’ after my two daughters Nikita and Monica. My goal was to create a high-quality and unique product in a niche market. In April 2001, I launched the company, supplying wholesale ice cream to restaurants and for events. We started off with four flavors, our signature flavor which still remains the most popular – Saffron Silk (saffron ice cream mingled with rose and pistachios)
In August 2005, we opened Saffron Spot. The original idea was to have a retail location for our ice cream which was gaining popularity amongst our community. We added other dessert and snack items to our ice cream products. In the last two years, we have received favorable reviews in the press, and most importantly, from our customers. We are always in the process of continuous improvement – creating new flavors and menu items and enhancing existing ones to create a ‘tasteful’ experience. Our emphasis is always on creating a quality product, using high-quality ingredients and natural ingredients.
We also specialize in catering for wedding and parties and other events, large and small.”
*This is NOT a paid endorsement.
Very nice story indeed….an Indian making saffron ice cream in California !!
You just said the magic word : “mango”! Woohoo! These ice creams look divine. And the story is so inspiring. Thanks for sharing this post, Monica! As always, reading your posts is a great way to start my day 🙂
Monica, this ice cream sounds absolutely delightful! Such unique flavors! I’m heading to CA soon and I will make sure to pay her a visit.