2019 YEAR IN REVIEW
Jeni’s is a Certified B Corporation endorsed by the international nonprofit B Lab as a company that meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Using Direct Trade ingredients and employing and working with a diverse team of people— it’s all part of how we operate and an important part of our company culture. We’re proud to be a B Corp. It means we’re an evolving company—pushing forward to be better tomorrow than we are today.
We believe company means community Our community is all of our makers, growers, and producers, as well as our team, our customers, and every neighborhood we touch—from near our kitchen in Columbus, Ohio, to the cities across the country where we have scoop shops.
Pride Month We partnered with Nina West— our favorite drag queen and winner of Miss Congeniality on season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race—for Pride Month on a special flavor in our shops, an online collection curated by Nina, and a Pride T-shirt. 100% profits went to The Nina West Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars to support LGBTQ+ causes.
Ice Cream for Breakfast We hosted our 3rd Ice Cream for Breakfast Day celebration in our shops and online. 100% of profits went to She Should Run, a nonprofit committed to getting 250K women to run for elected office by 2030.
Made Stand Jeni launched Made Stand, a program to promote creativity, community, and commerce for youth through a challenge to turn $10 into $100 by the end of summer by using your “brain, brawn, and buds.”
California Wildfire Relief
Strawberry Jam We hosted our 4th annual Strawberry Jam in Columbus, a community event in celebration of the release of our Strawberry Buttermilk ice cream.
After four devastating wildfires in California at the end of 2018—one of which caused a mandatory evacuation for our shop and employees in Calabasas—our shops in Los Angeles donated to the California Wildfire Relief Fund.
ASL Communities
Adopt a Senior Program We participated in the Adopt a Senior Program, donating 7,000 presents to 2,000 seniors—everything from bars of soap and cleaning supplies to perfume and John Wayne DVDs.
For our Clintonville shop team—which is close to the Ohio School for the Deaf—we brought in an expert to teach an introduction to customer service ASL, covering basics from, “Hi, how are you?” to ways to better communicate our flavors, including colors and phrases like, “waffle cone” and “dairy-free.” Our Houston Heights team has been getting involved with the ASL Society at the University of Houston, attending Halloween bowling in the student center (dressed as Jeni’s Ambassadors, naturally), learning more about ASL, and engaging with members of the deaf community.
#savethecrew We helped keep the Columbus Crew—our Major League Soccer club—in Columbus and and received a Spirit of Columbus award for our efforts.
166 Volunteer hours
79
Sara Abou Rashed’s A Map of Myself We underwrote the creation of A Map of Myself, a one-woman show from Columbus poet and Syrian refugee Sara Abou Rashed, that recounts her journey from war-torn Damascus to Columbus.
Refugee Welcome Kits We assembled welcome kits for 15 refugee families. Each kit included enough household and bathroom items—from laundry baskets and detergent to shower curtains, bath towels, and body soap—for a family of six people moving into a new home.
Total volunteers Flyover Fest We sponsored the 3rd annual Flyover Fest in Columbus, an inclusive four-day festival that features art in many formats— from literature and music to film and podcasts—from internationally acclaimed artists, often from the Midwest.
37 Service projects
22 Partner charities
Best For The World Community 2019 Honoree
We were recognized as a Best For The World honoree, scoring in the top 10% of all Certified B Corporations for community impact, by measure of job creation, diversity and inclusion, civic engagement and giving, local involvement, and more.Â
The Fellowship Model When each of us brings in our awesomeness, together we make something greater than the sum of its parts— a fellowship. This group of makers, growers, producers, planners, and scoopers all drawn together in service of making better ice cream and bringing people together. A simple mission that means so much to us.
2019 POUNDS USED
6.8k
Askinosie Direct Trade chocolate flecks
30k
6k
Roasted pecans from Krema Nut Co.
Cold brew concentrate from Slingshot Coffee Co.
64k
Gardners Candies small batch almond brittle
50
Watershed Distillery apple brandy
14k
Ohio Strawberries from Rhodes, Polter, and Hirsch Fruit farms
55k 13k Fair Trade cocoa powder from Dutch Cocoa
4.3k
Sweet potatoes from Stahlbush Island Farms
7k
Mackenzie Creamery goat cheese
22k
Buttermilk from Arps Dairy
6.5k
Rosé from Peregrine Ranch
300
Middle West Spirits whiskey
Yogurt from Arps Dairy
4.7k
Blueberries from Stahlbush Island Farms
Michigan cherries and cherry pureé from Peterson Farms
22k
21k
Ohio blackberries from Hirsch Fruit Farm
9.4k
Heavy cream from Arps Dairy
2.4k
Intelligentsia Black Cat Classic French Press Coffee
1.3m
550 BjornQorn Popcorn
Pasture-based farm milk from Smith’s dairy 650
9k
Georgia peaches from The Peach Truck
Fair Trade doublefold Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract
1.8k
Ohio pumpkins from Hirsch Fruit Farm
We scooped 12 brand new flavors
We brought back 9 flavors from our vault
We introduced 5 new Street Treats flavors
Atlantic Beach Pie Banana French Toast Lemon & Blueberries Parfait Nectar Honeycomb Noir D’ivoire
Brown Butter Almond Brittle Cream Puff Dark Chocolate Truffle
Orange Blossom Chiffon Savannah Buttermint Sun-Popped Corn Sweet Cream Biscuits & Peach Jam
FrosĂŠ Sorbet Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks
We launched a line of dairy-free flavors—which Time highlighted as a “Best Inventions of 2019” honoree.
Sustainability
We launched our Zero Waste Shops Initiative
95%
of what you buy in our shops is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. And we are actively marching toward zero waste in our shops through a critical approach to what comes in (sourcing) and what goes out (waste).
By Earth Day 2020, we have diverted
100
tons of waste from the landfill. Waste To us, zero waste starts by minimizing the waste we create in the first place. Our teams think about every item that comes into our shops and how it gets there. This includes sourcing compostable bowls, spoons, and napkins made from renewable sources, such as corn. Switching from disposable tasting spoons to reusable metal spoons. Working with suppliers to reduce packaging. And constantly evaluating what’s on our menu to make sure what we offer will be enjoyed by you, reducing our food waste.
Our Chicago compost partner WasteNot Compost
Water-Saving Eco Scoop Showers
Sourcing In 2019, we launched our shops composting program. You’ll now find compost bins in our scoop shops where you can throw spoons, bowls, napkins, and ice creams. Instead of sending this waste to the landfill, it’s picked up by our local compost partners and processed into nutrient-rich compost that will either be sold or given away to local farmers and residents. Composting not only reduces the waste ending up in landfills, but it gives us a chance to support local compost businesses who care about doing what’s right. This year, we have partnered with nine local, community-based, environmentally proactive companies across 10 markets. There are a few shops where we haven’t yet been able to start a composting program, be it due to a shortage of compost pickup options in the area or space restrictions. Know that we are working to bring these shops on board, leading the way as activists in these communities to spread the word about compost, increase awareness, and support new compost businesses getting off the ground.
In an effort to lessen our water consumption, all of our new shops are using water-saving Eco Scoop Showers in place of traditional dipper wells. We don’t have stats yet on how much water this new technology is saving us, but check back next year and we will.
Zero Waste Clambake We partnered with the Columbus Chamber to make their annual Clambake a zero-waste event—lending our expertise, researching and finding compostable alternatives to Styrofoam and plastic materials, covering the cost of the materials, and coordinating with the event host, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, to ensure all compost went to Price Farms Organics to be composted.
And most of all, we had fun...
Saints coach Sean Payton practiced self-care after a tough loss.
Stranger Things’ Noah Schnapp fell in love with our chocolates.
Mason Ramsey sampled a few flavors.
Our FrosĂŠ sorbet was a sofi Award New Product Winner.
We opened our first shops in Texas.
We made a flavor with Tyler, The Creator.
FEATURED IN
How This Entrepreneur Found Her Sweet Spot and Scooped Up $30 Million in Sales Last Year
Jeni recorded a live episode for NPR’s the How I Built This with Guy Raz.
Lizzo got a scoop at our 12 South shop.
Somebody got an actual, real-life permanent Jeni’s tattoo. FEATURED ON
The Bruery turned our Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks ice cream into a beer.
Meet the woman whose name is on 2 million pints of ice cream
We released a throwback The Buckeye State shirt with Homage.
makes it better.