Takeaways

• Jupiter Moon is exploring a whiskey and spirit infused ice cream collaboration with Redhead Creamery, the Brooten, Minnesota, creamery that distills spirits from its own cheese making whey byproduct.
• The shop's candy truffle ice cream traces back to Kernel's Creamery in Covington, Kentucky, whose owner personally drove his equipment and recipes up to Minnesota when he stepped away from the business.
• Jupiter Moon sometimes sells the exact same ice cream flavor under two different names on the menu to A/B test which one customers actually order, including a grape flavor once sold as both Purple Reign and Purple Fuzzy Space Monster.

Summary of the Episode

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation on Ice Cream Social, host David Boyer sits down with Ava Peters, the freelance social media manager who has spent the summer running Jupiter Moon's Instagram while also working as a client service representative at Jacobs Financial. The conversation opens with ice cream: Ava's flavor evolution from mint chip as a kid to the salted caramel truffle now, a flavor she describes as reminding her of whiskey thanks to its bitter caramel and espresso notes.

That comparison leads to an interesting idea in the works: ice cream with real spirits in it. David shares that Redhead Creamery, the Brooten, Minnesota, creamery already distilling spirits from its own cheese making whey, has floated the idea of Jupiter Moon using their spirits in a seasonal flavor, possibly a peppermint schnapps ice cream for winter. It is still just an idea, but the relationship between the two local businesses is already there.

From there, David tells the origin story behind Jupiter Moon's candy truffles: recipes and equipment inherited from Kernel's Creamery, an ice cream shop in Covington, Kentucky, whose owner personally drove everything up to Minnesota, with his grandson, when he stepped away from the business for health reasons. He has since gone back to making ice cream himself. David also walks through his habit of A/B testing flavor names on the menu, using the same grape ice cream sold at different times as Purple Reign (spelled to sidestep any issues with the Prince estate) and, originally, Purple Fuzzy Space Monster, a name he still loves despite it barely selling.

The second half of the episode turns to Ava's own story: how she went from being unsure about being on camera and directing other people to running content that has become some of Jupiter Moon's highest performing social posts, including a "which one's vegan" bar joke and a "Minnesota nice, I'll pay" bit. She also opens up about how managing a business's social media, instead of her own, became a healthier relationship with the same platforms that felt unhealthy to her growing up.

Key Topics Covered

• Ava Peters's role managing Jupiter Moon's social media as a freelancer, plus her day job at Jacobs Financial
• Flavor evolution from childhood mint chip to salted caramel truffle
• A potential whiskey and spirit infused ice cream collaboration with Redhead Creamery in Brooten, Minnesota
• The origin of Jupiter Moon's candy truffles, traced back to Kernel's Creamery in Covington, Kentucky
• A/B testing flavor names on the menu: Purple Reign versus Purple Fuzzy Space Monster
• Jupiter Moon's vegan ice cream option and how it inspired one of the shop's top performing posts
• Ava's personal history with social media and how managing a business account changed her relationship with it
• A shoutout to Jupiter Moon team member Isaac, headed to college in Ithaca, New York

https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/