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#REDIRECT [[Halo Top Creamery]]
{{Infobox person

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| name = Justin Woolverton
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| residence = [[Los Angeles]], California
| nationality = American
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| occupation = Founder & CEO
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| employer = [[Halo Top Creamery]]
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'''Justin Woolverton''' is an American [[entrepreneur]] and CEO of the confectionary brand, [[Halo Top Creamery]]. He founded the company in 2011, while still working as a corporate lawyer.

Woolverton created the original prototype of [[Halo Top Creamery|Halo Top]] ice cream as a lower sugar alternative for his own consumption. He officially founded [[Halo Top Creamery]] in 2011 and began to develop his idea. A range of Halo Top ice creams was first released in 2012. Sales of the product made it the best selling [[ice cream]] brand in the [[United States]] in 2017 in US grocery stores.

==Early life & career==
Woolverton became a lawyer after studying at the [[University of California]] [[Los Angeles]] and then at [[Columbia Law School]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Broner |first1=Stephen J. |title=Before Halo Top became one of America's fastest-growing ice cream brands, it was on the verge of death |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/halo-top-almost-tanked-before-it-became-a-fast-growing-ice-cream-brand-2018-7 |publisher=[[BusinessInsider]]}}</ref>

Woolverton began his law career working as a corporate lawyer in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]. In a number of interviews, Woolverton alluded to the fact he also wrote episodes and took improv classes.<ref name=inc>{{cite web |last1=Helm |first1=Burt |title=Why the Most Hated-On New Ice Cream Brand in America Is a Booming $100 Million Business |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201802/burt-helm/halo-top-healthy-ice-cream.html |publisher=[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc. magazine]]}}</ref>

==Career==
Woolverton stated in interviews he was health conscious and would create recipes in his kitchen, instead of eating store-bought ice cream. Woolverton often made bowls of [[Greek yogurt]] with fruit, which would be sweetened with [[stevia]].<ref name=bbc>{{cite web |last1=Cassidy |first1=Anne |title=The man who created a $2bn ice cream firm in his kitchen |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44614104 |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=July 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gajanan |first1=Mahita |title=Halo Top CEO Insists His Ice Cream Is Healthy: 'People Can Eat the Whole Pint' |url=http://fortune.com/2017/08/02/halo-top-ice-cream-ceo-healthy/ |publisher=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]}}</ref>

He eventually began to consider selling and scaling his ice cream.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Earle |first1=Paul |title=Halo Top, And How To Be The Beatles Of Your Business |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulearle/2018/01/26/halo-top-and-how-to-be-the-beatles-of-your-business/#6d5bc0dd5fcc |work=[[Forbes]] |date=January 26, 2018}}</ref> While the ingredients were an ideal choice for what he wanted to produce, often the outcomes wouldn't be. Woolverton stated his first few batches were ''"hard and icy, like a yogurt popsicle."''<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Ronald D. |title=How L.A.'s Halo Top became America's bestselling ice cream pint |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-halo-top-icecream-20170915-story.html |publisher=[[LA Times]] |date=September 15, 2017}}</ref> In order to sell the product, he sought out a co-packer to use a large mixer. His attempt failed when the mix didn't produce the same results as in his kitchen. He then took a more scientific approach, carefully balancing gums, fibers and milk proteins to not only focus on the taste but the consistency of the [[ice cream]].<ref name=inc /> Once the flavors were complete, Woolverton then began to experiment with [[overrun]], a process commonly used in the [[ice cream]] industry. After a year of trial and error, Woolverton began selling Halo Top to stores.<ref name=inc />

In 2012, Woolverton launched his product. During an interview with the [[BBC]], Woolverton stated that the first year after launching the business was challenging. ''"It honestly took a year of complete failure at the beginning."'' Woolverton and his business partner, Doug Bouton, funded the venture from personal savings, friends & family and [[credit card]] debt. Woolverton used [[social media marketing]] as one of the main marketing strategies, sending vouchers to influencers in the health and fitness industry. The research group, [[Mintel]], stated that this strategy was key to the success of [[Halo Top Creamery]].<ref name=bbc />

[[Whole Foods]] became the first major company to agree to carry Halo Top, mainly in the [[Bay area]]. This connection allowed [[Halo Top Creamery]] to expand to other regions in the [[United States]] through partnerships with other [[Whole Foods]] regions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dreamers and Doers: With Justin Woolverton and Devin Dawson |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/video/dreamers-and-doers-with-justin-woolverton-and-devin-dawson/Hr89zaPU |publisher=[[FastCompany]]}}</ref> While the expansion of the brand was good news, the move was costing the business financially - namely, the slotting fee that most retailers charged. Having only raised $500,000 up to this point with no outside investment, the company was only running on a month to month basis. The situation was dire enough that Woolverton applied for a [[predatory loan]] during this period but was rejected.<ref name=inc />

Further problems in 2014 with both production and suppliers caused further problems for Woolverton. [[Sprouts]] announced that they would be removing [[Halo Top Creamery]] from 200 of their stores and production failures added to the financial problems. Woolverton and Bouton secured $1 million in funding from [[angel investor]]s and CircleUp in 2015.<ref name=inc />

In 2015, this success and promotion led to Halo Top having to rebrand. A competitor argued the brand's packaging and branding was too similar to theirs.<ref name=entrepreneur>{{cite web |last1=Brenner |first1=Stephen J. |title=Before Halo Top Became One of America's Fastest-Growing Ice Cream Brands, It Was on the Verge of Death |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/315938 |publisher=[[Entrepreneur.com]]}}</ref> A [[GQ]] reporter ate nothing but [[Halo Top Creamery]] for ten days in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Snow |first1=Shane |title=What It's Like to Eat Nothing but This Magical, Healthy Ice Cream for 10 Days |url=https://www.gq.com/story/halo-top-ice-cream-review-diet |publisher=[[GQ]] |date=January 28, 2016}}</ref> The article went viral and gave the brand much-needed exposure away from just health and fitness. By mid 2017, it was the best selling pint-sized ice cream in the US with 28.8 million tubs sold.<ref name=inc />

By 2017, Halo Top had grown to annual sales of $342.2 million. Woolverton also spoke about how the product and model he created was now seeing similar brands for the major players within the [[ice cream]] market to try and compete with [[Halo Top Creamery]] by using the same product and model.<ref name=entrepreneur /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Grut |first1=Oscar-Williams |title=Hugely popular 'healthy' US ice cream brand Halo Top is coming to Britain |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/low-calorie-ice-cream-halo-top-plans-uk-launch-2017-10?r=US&IR=T |publisher=[[BusinessInsider]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Carey |first1=Alexis |title=Lawyer mates raking in millions after making dessert 'healthy' |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/lawyer-mates-raking-in-millions-after-making-dessert-healthy/news-story/4e1e811da2dab17973277f70089e5b23?from=rss-basic |publisher=[[News.com.au]] |date=March 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Halo Top is launching three new flavours, and there are free samples to be had |url=https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/17/halo-top-launching-three-new-flavours-free-samples-7724726/ |publisher=[[Metro (newspaper)|Metro]]}}</ref>

During an interview with [[Inc. (magazine)|Inc. magazine]], Woolverton explained that he wanted Halo Top to be a remote company, with its employees working from home and communicating through [[Slack]] and other messaging apps.<ref name=inc /> It was also rumored in 2017 that Woolverton had hired [[Barclays]] to shop for a $2 billion acquisition of the company, but those rumors proved to be untrue.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hirsch |first1=Lauren |title=Exclusive: Halo Top ice cream maker explores sale |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-edencreamery-m-a/exclusive-halo-top-ice-cream-maker-explores-sale-sources-idUSKBN1AN29I |publisher=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How an ex-lawyer built Halo Top into an ice cream sensation with $347 million in sales |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/01/halo-top-beat-ben--jerrys-brings-in-hundreds-of-millions-in-sales.html |publisher=[[CNBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Abboud |first1=Leila |title=Halo Top challenges big brands for scoop of ice-cream market |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b5ffbe6e-1360-11e9-a168-d45595ad076d |publisher=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Woolverton currently resides in [[Los Angeles]], California.<ref>{{cite web |title=Halo Top ice cream founder scoops out $5.6 million for Sunset Plaza home |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/hot-property/la-fi-hotprop-justin-woolverton-sunset-plaza-20190314-story.html |publisher=[[LA Times]] |date=March 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Behind Halo Top ice cream's low-calorie success |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/halo-top-creamery-low-calorie-recipe-success/ |publisher=[[CBS News]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]]

Latest revision as of 04:03, 23 November 2024

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