What’s Snappin’ – Updates from the ColdSnap Team!

The past few months have been action packed here at ColdSnap – from building out our facility, improving our ice cream machine, ramping up production of our frozen treats, and showcasing our instant ice cream maker at events, we have had our hands full! We’ve been hard at work, gearing up for our commercial launch at the end of the year. Want the scoop? Read on!

ColdSnap Facility Build-Out & Scaling Up Production

Over the past year, we added 20,000 square feet of office and production space here in Billerica, increasing our factory to 45,000 square feet. Additionally, we leased 24,000 square feet across the street. Much of that space has been filled with equipment that will allow us to scale up our frozen treat production. This additional space also helps accommodate our growing and dynamic ColdSnap team, which is now approximately 100 strong!

To make enough product for our commercial launch, we will produce our frozen treats both in-house and in partnership with co-manufacturers. While our initial test kitchen was able to produce only small batches of our ice cream and other frozen treats, the new batching room at our Billerica, MA HQ can support 300-gallon batches of premium liquid recipe mix that will then fill ColdSnap pods.

To bolster onsite production, our co-manufacturing partners will also continue to help make our frozen treat mixes. This assistance helps our small food science team – Andi, Kayla, and Laura, to focus on other projects, like tweaking recipes. Right now, they are working on decreasing the freeze time in our machine! They do this by making minor changes to the type and amount of ingredients.

For any company, the scaling process is always a challenge, and ColdSnap is no exception. During initial testing at our co-manufacturer, our product was too thick to flow through the pipes! Since our premium liquid recipe mix is uniquely formulated for use in our machine, it is different from commercial ice cream mixes commonly made at manufacturing facilities. The food science team needed to reformulate our products so we can produce large quantities, both in-house and at comanufacturers’ facilities. This has meant lots of taste tests for the rest of the ColdSnap team! Thankfully, our food science team are very good problem solvers, and have the new recipes locked in.

As for canning and packaging, up until now, this has been done by hand. With the aid of automation equipment, though, we will be able to scale up production to support our launch. We should be up and running next month, with the capacity to produce 30 million pods/year.

Sales Team Expansion

Did you know that ColdSnap now has a sales team located throughout the country? We are so grateful to have a top-notch sales crew! Bart, Holly, Pat, Molly, Erik, Jen, Arnaud, Erin, Jack, Chase, and Nate demonstrate our instant ice cream makers for all kinds of commercial clients – from sports arenas to hotels, corporate offices, and more.

It’s cool hearing and reading about our machines, but there’s nothing like experiencing ColdSnap’s super simple user interface and tasting the decadent ice cream and other frozen treats first-hand. Our sales team makes these interactive experiences happen for potential customers.

Our sales team also provides valuable feedback that helps us to better understand how ColdSnap is adding value to workplaces and other commercial settings. Topping the list of challenges our on demand frozen treat maker solves: no cleaning. With our no-fuss appliance, freezing and mixing of the product is done inside each single-serve pod. The food product never touches the machine, which makes it completely mess-free. This is crucial for businesses looking for the safest and most convenient way to make frozen treats without needing to clean the machine.

ColdSnap Machine Improvements

We are constantly working to improve the ColdSnap machine. It is quite a piece of technology, with complex refrigeration and software components. With all that complexity under the hood, our goal is to make the user experience as intuitive as possible. The newest version has a more powerful refrigeration system, for a faster freeze time, and the next shipment of machines, which are set to arrive in December, will come loaded with a helpful “How to Use” animation. The newest version of ColdSnap machines simply reads the QR code when the pod is inserted to begin the freezing cycle.

Nearly all of the machines available for the end of this year have been spoken for, but more machines will be on the way for early 2024. Please reach out to us here if you are interested in our frozen treat machines for commercial use!

ColdSnap Takes Boston Harbor!

In the midst of all the activity, we took some time out as a team to enjoy a sunset cruise on the Liberty Clipper, a tall ship, in Boston Harbor on September 7th. It ended up being the hottest day of the summer, and we welcomed the sea breezes as well as food and drinks together! The ColdSnap team brought an assortment of snacks on board (we do have quite a few foodies on the team, so this was a treat). One thing is for certain – we are a fun-loving bunch!

By Lyn Ferreira