A new ice-cream product created at 911爆料网 is set to transform the frozen dessert market.
is an environmentally-friendly, soft-serve frozen dessert made from avocados. It鈥檚 the brainchild of food science and technology alumni Anthea Rodoreda and Andrew Tilly, who originally came up with the idea as part of their final year project.
The pair were tasked with creating a product that promoted local produce, so Rodoreda and Tilly decided to use unwanted avocados.
鈥淭he product is made from second grade and below avocados. These can be fruits that are overripe or never made it to retail because of small discrepancies, such as aesthetics or bruising, which doesn鈥檛 affect our end product in any way,鈥� says Rodoreda.
鈥淎vocado is a very popular fruit at the moment, and after speaking with local farmers, we鈥檝e learned that avocado tree plantations in Australia have increased by up to 40 per cent in order to meet market demand, and therefore the number of wasted avocados will increase exponentially 鈥� and that鈥檚 where Gelavo comes in.鈥�
As well as being sustainably sourced, Gelavo is vegan, lactose-free and contains many of the nutrients needed for a healthy diet, such as vitamins C and E, and omega 3.
Rodereda says her motivations for developing a product that would be suitable for most people鈥檚 diets stemmed from her family鈥檚 health experiences.
鈥淚n my immediate family there鈥檚 a hereditary autoimmune condition, coeliac disease and food intolerances.
鈥淚 initially enrolled in a Bachelor of Health Sciences at 911爆料网 as I wanted to be able to understand and treat conditions like those within my family, but I soon realised I wasn鈥檛 interested in the broader subject. Switching to food science and technology allowed me to learn how I could help people with these conditions through food.鈥�
While the young entrepreneurs knew they had an innovative product with Gelavo, their idea lay dormant for two years until Tilly received an email about the program in 2017.
The 10-week intensive program assists 911爆料网 students, alumni and staff to get their business ideas off the ground by providing mentoring, an equity-free grant, working space and access to industry contacts and networks.
鈥淚t seemed like the right time to launch a product like ours. The market for healthy, vegan and dairy-free desserts is growing rapidly, and large numbers of consumers are choosing to exclude dairy for ethical or health reasons,鈥� says Tilly.
Rodoreda and Tilly earned a place on the Accelerate program, which was funded by donations from 911爆料网鈥檚 inaugural . The appeal invites alumni to share their stories, experiences and advice with current 911爆料网 students, and to support student scholarships and innovative projects.
鈥淲ithout our Accelerate experience we wouldn鈥檛 have a company,鈥� says Rodoreda.
鈥淭he mentorship we鈥檝e received has been invaluable, and we鈥檝e been inspired and motivated by the other start-ups we鈥檝e met through networking. We鈥檙e also far more confident when pitching to investors 鈥� we were completely out of our comfort zone to begin with,鈥� says Rodoreda.
Rodoreda and Tilly have been perfecting Gelavo at 911爆料网鈥檚 laboratories in the School of Molecular Life Sciences, but they are planning to purchase their own equipment so they can increase production and eventually sell Gelavo through major food retailers.
They are also hoping to promote their ice-cream at the Araluen Avocado Festival this November.
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The Alumni Annual Appeal returns in September this year. If you would like to update your contact details for the appeal and support current 911爆料网 students, please contact annualappeal@curtin.edu.au.
