You Cado be kidding me

By: Morrgan Zmolek

Cado is redefining how people enjoy ice cream—with the help of the beloved avocado.

Meghan, Deb and Jack Dowd are the co-founders of Cado Ice Cream, the first avocado-based and dairy-free ice cream on the market. They wanted to create a better-for-you, plant-based ice cream that would use a healthier fat than other dairy-free ice cream varieties. Meghan and Jack were raised vegetarian, and say healthy eating has always been a part of who they are.

Cado is not just a dairy-free, plant-based ice cream; it is also gluten-free, soy-free and vegan. Since it is dairy-free, Cado cannot use the key ingredient present in most other ice creams: milk. Instead, they use the fat from avocados to create their product.

“The cool thing is that it doesn’t taste like avocado, it just tastes like chocolate or mint chip or whatever the flavor is,” Meghan Dowd said. “Avocado provides a really neutral, creamy base for traditional flavors.” Cado launched regionally in the Midwest in 2015 with three available flavors: chocolate, mint chip and lemon. They have since expanded their line with an additional seven flavors and now distribute their product nationally. As a family, the Dowds have used avocados as a replacement for other recipe ingredients for years. “We were making a chocolate silk avocado pie, key lime pie with avocado; we were putting avocado in our smoothies, and for more and more people it’s become trendy to eat avocados,” Meghan Dowd said. “It’s because it’s a much healthier fat, the monounsaturated fat found in avocados.” She added that ice cream made with a coconut base tends to taste like coconut, and with avocados, you don’t get an additional flavor coming through. When the family created Cado, they did not think about the fact that it was allergenfree and diet inclusive; they just loved avocados. “It just so happens that the way we created this product that vegans can eat…other people can really enjoy it who haven’t been able to have ice cream in a long, long time,” Deb Dowd said.

“Ice cream is just a fun food, so it’s nice that everyone can eat it,” Meghan Dowd said. “For us, good quality food is really important. Using the best ingredients and having a good nutritional profile is important in terms of quality of life and quality of health. We didn’t want to create a ‘diet’ ice cream; we’re not interested in low sugar or using sugar alcohols and things like that. We wanted to create a product that would really satisfy that sort of sweet craving that people have.” She said the

ingredients are an important consideration in Cado. They use as many organic ingredients as they are able, and Cado ice cream is non-GMO verified. In addition to ingredients, the taste was another important factor. “Nobody wants to eat ice cream if it’s mediocre,” Meghan Dowd said.

The Cado company is also a member of 1% for the Planet, an organization that helps businesses support nonprofits dedicated to helping the environment. The movement takes 1% of their gross sales and then donates them to environmental nonprofit organizations. Creating Cado was a test of trial and error. “Our earlier batches were not as good as what we have on the shelf now,” Meghan Dowd said. “We’ve worked from creating a product that was good but maybe too hard and too dense. Plus, we’re working through the ice cream science of creating something that would be good through the whole supply chain.” She said her brother, Jack, is the “master food scientist.” He has journals of recipes that he’s tried and tinkered with to ultimately create Cado.

Cado is a local company based in Fairfield, Iowa. The Dowds grew up in the state, and Meghan Dowd said it has been a comfortable place for the family to grow their business. She added that it was a bit of a challenge to get the Midwest on board with an avocado ice cream. “If we were in California, people might be a little less skeptical about it...,” she said. They are now finding that people everywhere want to eat healthier, so it’s been great help for growing their business.