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Owner and Co-founder
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Not many people would think to add cayenne pepper to chocolate ice cream, but Jeni Britton Bauer, Featured Lady, co-founder and owner of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, wanted to give her party guests dessert with a kick. She got rave reviews and continued experimenting with new ingredients. Now a signature flavor, Queen City Cayenne was recently featured on The Food Network’s program “The Best Thing I’ve Ever Tasted.” Jeni, an advocate for small dairy farmers in Ohio, is committed to locating and using small grass-fed dairy farms for her ice cream, as well as bringing good dairy products to the community and helping local farmers achieve their dreams. Generating $5 million in revenue last year, Jeni’s company has appeared in Gourmet Magazine and Food and Wine, and on websites including The Daily Grommet, CMH Gourmand, Tasting Table – New York and Examiner.com.
While attending art school, Jeni worked for a French pastry company – an experience that inspired her to make ice cream. She opened her first venture, Scream, and spent three and a half years studying ice cream, flavors and business. Jeni ended up closing the store so she could hone her recipes and write a better business plan. Drawing on the practices of a traditional pastry kitchen, Jeni developed her own techniques to make American ice cream less sweet and more flavorful. In 2002, she and husband Charly Bauer launched Columbus-based Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams; Charly’s brother Tom joined as a partner one year later. Today, there are five store locations in North Market, Grandview, Short North, Bexley and Dublin.
“I wanted to bring really good ice cream to the community,” Jeni says. “I saw that there was a niche for artisan quality ice cream in Columbus.” In addition to Queen City Cayenne, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams offers unexpected flavors like Salty Caramel, Thai Chili, Bourbon Buttered Pecan and Wildberry Lavender. Together with her small team, Jeni makes every batch of ice cream that is served in her five stores and shipped nationwide.
Jeni, who describes her company as innovative, collaborative and delicious, learned about the value of high quality ingredients and using fresh, local ingredients during her time at the French patisserie. “It is an integral part of our business to use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible,” Jeni explains. “Or, to use the highest quality exotic sources such from as far away as Uganda, like vanilla beans, and South America.”
From the beginning, one of Jeni’s goals was to work with grass-fed farmers and help change the Ohio diary industry. “Small dairy farmers have real challenges to making their business profitable,” Jeni says. “Larger corporate-owned dairy farms have lobbied to make things extremely difficult for small dairy farmers who want to produce and sell high quality dairy products.”
The Bauers were hopeful they would be able to work with local dairies. However, the couple quickly realized they needed to become activists in the dairy world in order to meet their goals. Jeni and Charly are proud to say they succeeded. “Small dairies are disappearing across the state and across the country! The dairy industry is very unfair to the small dairy farmer, especially grass-fed,” Jeni says. “Legislation, swayed by powerful lobbyists, is heavily weighted in favor of the big dairies. It is very, very difficult for small dairies to exist.”
Eight years after its launch, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is still family-owned and operated. Jeni, Charly and Tom all serve as partners and owners of the company. Jeni and Charly have two children, Greta and Dashiell. The toddlers love eating ice cream and right now that’s their only involvement in the company. The Bauers created an environment in their office where the kids can come to work with them on days when their schedules allow. Jeni says, “It is important to us that our business be amenable to having kids in the office – ours as well as children of our office staff. We want them to be inspired by what we do every day.”
What we learned from Jeni: “A very good friend told me ‘Here’s $15,000 but don’t take it because if you do, we’ll want something from you. Go back to the bank and work with them.’ So we doubled down and went back to the bank. I learned it’s best not to have partners. That’s been the best advice we ever received.”
The Right Stuff
“Before going out on a limb and starting your own business, do some soul-searching to make sure you really have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. You have to be in your business, whatever it may be, for the passion, not the money.”
The Back Up Plan
“Business is nothing but challenges every minute of every day. From determining what signs will stick best on the front of the freezers and employee relations, to following FDA regulations and fixing equipment, there is always the need to have a Plan B. In fact, have many Plan B’s!”
Strong Women
“‘Don’t be bossy and don’t take any guff.’ I recently read that in a journal belonging to my Grandpa Doc who passed away this winter. I think this advice is fitting and appropriate for women entrepreneurs.”
This Featured Lady was profiled by Megan L. Reese, WORDrobe™ Stylist for Her Write Image in West Grove, PA.
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