It’s been 2 years, since I asked Martin if he wants to join me on my travels outside of our beautiful country, the Czech Republic. It happened during our second year of studies at The Czech University of Life Sciences at Faculty of Economics and Management in Prague. Both of us were already working on the side while trying to come up with a business idea. When I told Martin about my trip to Thailand, where I had a chance to travel thanks to my dad a year earlier, we realized it was a perfect destination for us. After a challenging period of exams, which we did not nail ;-), we took off for our adventure. We decided to not only relax and have fun by the sea, but also to travel. Therefore, we chose to visit the capital city and one resort destination by the sea. After a couple of days of sightseeing, we arrived at a floating market where we saw a never-ending queue of people leading to some machine. The expression on Martin’s face was comparable with his expression after seeing The Grand Palace in Bangkok for the first time. It was then when I realized that he spotted something unique.
Today, it’s not a secret that the idea of fried ice cream machines was born most probably in Thailand. But back in 2012, this was a mystery to us. The potential, unique technique, fine and healthy ingredients, taste and the long queues of customers were clear indicators for us to try to take this idea to the European market. However, we were 23-years-old and it wasn’t easy to start up something like this. But we really wanted. And we believed in it. And we still believe in it… After coming back home, we started to look for a supplier. Nevertheless, we couldn’t find anybody except Chinese suppliers. We were very tempted to order a Chinese machine, but after reading all their customer reviews, we decided to dismiss this idea. Fortunately, Martin took a step that took my breath. Most of his financial means, which he had been saving over the years (btw not without a reason we used to call him Scrooge 🙂 ), he decided to invest in our own manufacturing and design. At that time, I was a sworn member of a band called The Travelers. You probably know yourself how “rich” a musician is:-). Therefore, I have admired his belief in this project and his willingness to take the risk. I will never forget this and I highly appreciate what he did.
So we planned, discussed and worked hard. And at the end, we made it. We created our first Frosty Griddle ice pan machine. The result exceeded our expectations. The ice pan worked perfectly and the whole stainless design was exactly according to our vision. We decided to not save money on the material or the technology. However, after that we were facing another challenge. How to make rolled ice cream not only attractive but also tasty? It seems easy. Stir some mixture with a piece of fresh fruit. We encountered problems almost immediately with consistency, fragility, taste and so on. Yes, instead of fruit we could have used jams, syrups, candied fruit, or even add more sugar. But we didn’t want that. We began to experiment. Moreover, we asked for advice pastry-cooks and chefs. It took us more than a half year before we discovered the right combinations that would not only be profitable for vendors, but would also provide customers with high-quality ingredients.
We succeeded and we believe that thanks to our experience and hard work, we are able to deliver a first-class ice pan machine and process that will ensure that your and our customers only praise us wherever they go.
Roman Drnovec
Co-Founder of Frosty Griddle
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