press kit
Background
When Martha and Sophie met in 2015, neither knew that the other had been making ice cream for years to share with family and friends: it wasn’t in either of their Tinder profiles! But they quickly found out, swapping stories of Martha’s family’s summer tradition of fresh peach ice cream eaten straight from the churn and the half-busted Cuisinart machine that Sophie lugged all the way to her college dorm.
To cope with the tumult of the 2016 election, Martha began making ice cream sandwiches, filling pans of brownies with dense salted caramel ice cream and enlisting coworkers to help keep up with yields of the stress baking. While the need for stress-management-via-sweets never really let up, the sandwiches were such a hit that when Sophie and Martha moved to Columbia, MO in 2018 to begin graduate studies, they decided to convert their coping strategy into a business. Unable to resist a pun—or an opportunity for a literary twist—the two called their project Sugarwitch, and set to work creating small batch, from-scratch ice cream sandwiches featuring their signature ultra-premium ice cream and thoughtfully paired cookies using responsibly-sourced ingredients and labor practices that reflect a commitment to thriving all along the food chain.
Bios
Sophie Mendelson (she/her) brings a decade of experience in the food service and sustainable agriculture world. She studied sustainable food systems at Yale University (B.A.) and the University of Missouri (M.S., M.S.), and has formal training in diversified organic farming as well as years of cooking and eating in regions as far flung as Tuscany and Chiang Mai. She has written about food and farming for publications including The New Food Economy, Modern Farmer, and Good Food Jobs.
Martha Bass (she/they) brings a deep love of butterfat, as well as an aptitude for data crunching honed over eight years as a spatial data analyst in the government and private sectors. They have studied environmental sustainability and regional food economies at Washington University in St. Louis (B.A.) and the University of Missouri (enrolled Ph.D. student), and hold a Masters in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from Johns Hopkins. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has used her GIS skills to create interactive maps of restaurants offering curbside pick-up in order to support local food businesses.
FAQ
What products does Sugarwitch offer? Sugarwitch specializes in ice cream sandwiches, but we also create our own twists on other classic ice cream novelties, including drumsticks, ice cream tacos, and push-pops.
Does Sugarwitch have any vegan or gluten-free offerings? Yes! We always offer at least one vegan and one gluten-free ‘witch (as well as pops and pints), and frequently more! We should note, though, that we do not operate in a certified gluten-free kitchen, and so if you have a serious gluten allergy, please use your best judgment.
How does Sugarwitch source ingredients? We prioritize investing our dollars back into our regional food system, meaning that we buy local and with attention to sustainable agriculture practices whenever possible. We are continuously pushing ourselves to learn more about our ingredients and identify producers whose practices reflect a shared commitment to environmental and social responsibility.
Where can I get a ‘witch? This summer (2023), in addition to our cafe hours, we’re at the Tower Grove Farmers Market on Saturday mornings 8am-12:30pm! We also supply ice cream sandwiches and other frozen treats to a variety of local restaurants and shops, including Songbird, Coffeestamp, the Benevolent King, Stacked Burger Bar, Sanguchitos, Jalea, Bijoux Chocolates, the Kemper Art Museum at WashU, and Maypop Shop.
