17 Jun MKE Startup News:
Do you consider yourself ‘ice obsessed?’,” Dan Guenther asked the crowd gathered to watch the 2024 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest Pitch Competition.
This question sparked lively discussions at the 2024 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference long after the competition finalists left the stage.
If you’ve never thought about ice before, it might surprise you that more than half of all Americans consume around 400 pounds of ice a year. And, those people have a strong preference about the shape of the ice they consume. Traditionalists crave ice in its cubed form, others have a passion for pebble-shaped ice, and some swear shaved ice is superior.
Guenther and his cofounder Josh Cartellone launched Rockhopper Ice Collective in 2023 to address the needs of the 51% of Americans who identify themselves as ‘ice obsessed.’
The partners are working on an ice machine for commercial use that allows drink sellers to provide a variety of different kinds of ice from a single piece of equipment. Rockhopper is betting that consumers will love it and restaurateurs will sell more beverages because of it.
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