GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A local business venture created by childhood friends is making it big. Protein Pints started in Hudsonville just a few years ago, and now it's crossing state lines.
“We'd basically scoop the ice cream into pints, and this is how we used to do it. And we'd be here for hours jamming out to music,” said Paul Reiss, reflecting on their early days.
A stroll down memory lane inside Grand Rapids' Downtown Market brings back nostalgia.
“It brings back a lot of memories when we were first starting out and we were hand packing all of our pints,” Reiss said.
Reiss scooped into the world of ice cream alongside his childhood friend Mike Meadows.
“We grew up eating Hudsonville ice cream every single day of my childhood. I thought eating ice cream every day was normal for most people. Apparently, it's not,” Reiss recalled.
From that moment, their passion for frozen treats wouldn’t melt, so to speak.
“We got our own ice cream maker, and we started making protein ice cream actually in my parents' kitchen back in 2022,” Reiss said.
The protein ice cream business was born. They started by selling to friends and family, and it eventually found its way to grocery store shelves.
“We started off at one Meijer store back in 2023, and then in 2024 we jumped to 14 Meijer stores,” Reiss said.
The product is about to go nationwide.
“We're going to be going to Kroger very soon, about 1,800 Kroger stores. So we are just so pumped because that's going to be nationwide, and everyone across the United States will be able to buy it at Kroger,” Reiss said.
At the Grand Rapids Downtown Market, a lot of what they do still involves this space, as this is where they conduct research and development and try out new ice cream flavors.
“I don't know if I'm supposed to talk about it, but we are working on coffee and cookies and cream. So we're super excited about those flavors,” Reiss shared.
Childhood buddies turned into a budding business, proving something frozen can get hot.
“It still doesn't feel real, but I'm having the time of my life. It's been such an amazing ride with both not only my coworkers but some of my best friends,” Reiss said.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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