Making decadence guilt-free with Hero Ice Cream
Hero Ice Cream prides itself on being 100% Canadian, made locally in Toronto. Their ice creams are high in protein, lower in calories, fat and sugar, and made with all-natural, easy-to-pronounce ingredients.
Learn more about the project below.
Project Essentials
- Principal Investigator: Robert McCurdy
- Co-Investigators: Emily Lim, Dhananjay Agarkar
- Years Active: 2019-2020
- Research Area: Food & Beverage
The Challenge
Founded by former chef Jason Cherun, Hero Ice Cream prides itself on making "real" ice cream with fresh all-natural Ontario cream, without additives or unpronounceable ingredients. Building on a previous project to perfect a proteinenriched Vanilla Bean ice cream, Hero Ice Cream wanted to develop three new flavours: Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Chocolate, and Salted Caramel.
The GBC Solution
Hero was founded on the vision of a treat with the same decadence of a "premium" ice cream brand, but with better-for-you ingredients and nutritional qualities. And so, the research team worked hard to source organic and clean-label ingredients to support and create balanced recipes that met Hero's nutritional targets. They tested many prototypes with different ingredient mixes, and the FIRSt food scientists attended trial runs at a manufacturing facility in Guelph in support of Hero's mission.
The Result
As a result of this project, Hero Ice Cream has successfully launched a four-flavour ice cream line currently available throughout southern Ontario. Made with 100% real Ontario cream and certified kosher, the ingredients combine to make delicious frozen treats high in protein, lower in calories than other conventional brands, and lower in fat and sugar.
