A mission matters as much as the product.
Every Pint Creates Jobs for Those with Special Needs:
From H-E-B “Quest for Texas Best” Contest to placement in 200 grocery stores
Howdy Homemade offers premium ice cream with a mission
Each of the six flavors proudly features the face of one of the brand’s employees, internally designated as a “Hero” and the tagline “Every pint creates jobs for those with special needs.” Heroes are employees who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs).
Since debuting in stores this January, the mission-based company has shipped almost 70,000 units and expects to ship more than 100,000 additional units by the end of the year to keep pace with customer demand.
With statistics indicating that upwards of 80% of those with IDDs are unemployed, Howdy Homemade earmarks 25 cents per pint sold for their “Jobs for Untapped Abilities Initiative.” These funds are being used to create on-premise “demo squads” from the local communities around the grocery stores which further raises awareness of the mission and demand for the ice cream.
Howdy Homemade’s unique mission and business model have been featured on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, NBC Today, and various local media outlets. Founder and CEO Tom Landis is thrilled with the media attention because it challenges other companies to discover opportunities to employ individuals with special needs as valuable assets.
“Internally, we have our employment goals directly associated with our retail and franchise business,” Tom Landis notes. “We also know that we’re indirectly creating jobs by inspiring leaders of other companies to hire people with untapped abilities.”
“During this unprecedented time of low unemployment, these dependable and loyal folks are still being left out,” said Landis. “We know the task of hiring, training, and developing someone with an IDD seems daunting, but it’s really not. We’re proving that.”
“The expansion of our brand into grocery stores has greatly increased awareness of our mission, and we’re so thankful for our retail partners, H-E-B and Brookshire Brothers, for stepping up and realizing the world needs Howdy Homemade ice cream in everyone’s freezer,” said Chris Dahlander, President and COO.
“We know that our mission creates trial, but we had to make sure we’d get the shopper to repeatedly drop another pint in their cart the next time they were shopping,” said Dahlander. “That’s why we use a high butter-fat base and a high mix of inclusions to compete in the premium category.”
“Because we’re new, we were able to set our margins so that we can achieve our mission, but equally important, extend a very favorable margin to our retail partners as well,” Dahlander added.
Retail pints are available in six premium flavors, each with a thick, rich, high-fat cream base: Strawberry Milkshake, Salted Caramel, Cookie Nom’Ster, Cold Brew & Cookies, Chocolate as All Get-Out, and Birthday Cake. All pints feature a different Hero and their story in distinctive colored packaging so that they stand out on the shelves and are quickly recognizable by shoppers.
Austin Hanson, the face of the Strawberry Milkshake, shared, “It’s so exciting to see my face and story on the pint because I know that I’m helping others like me see what’s coming in the future – and it’s my favorite flavor!” Hanson is a five-year partner of H-E-B and is a scooper at the Katy, TX, Howdy Homemade franchise location.
Looking ahead, Howdy Homemade is pursuing additional grocery store placements, specifically with companies that are forward-thinking and supportive of the mission to create jobs for people with IDDs.
Howdy Homemade Ice Cream is on a relentless pursuit to create more jobs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) using the power of our smiles and amazing ice cream. Founded by Tom Landis in 2015 in Dallas, TX. Howdy Homemade is growing rapidly through franchising of new scoop shops across the country as well as an expanding presence of its pints in grocery stores. Howdy Homemade serves as a model for businesses to recognize the value of employing those with IDDs so they can achieve their full potential.
H-E-B’s annual “Quest for Texas’ Best” contest is an open call for locally owned, small food, beverage, and general merchandise suppliers to have their product considered for placement on H-E-B shelves and prize money to help support the transition. More information can be found on HEB.com
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