ABOVE: Sean and Ashley Crowne with their daughter outside Nicoco Hawaiian Gelato in Hilo, where the couple has mastered the elusive art of non-dairy dairy.
A lot of good people are vegan: Woody Harrelson and Stevie Wonder. Venus Williams. Jane Goodall. All have vaunted the virtues of a plant-based diet—for themselves and the planet. But steep and fraught is the vegan way: Critics question taste, texture, protein content and price. Bring a vegan pupu to a gathering and get ready for stink eye.
Nicoco Hawaiian Gelato, though, is vegan 2.0 (i.e., "is that really vegan?"). "When we started in 2012, we found zero vegan ice cream recipes online," says co-founder Sean Crowne. "It was pretty sad, actually." His wife, Ashley, laughs recalling the watery, less-than-flavorful (and slim) pickings for vegans at the time. The couple knew they could do better.
Founded on the lava fields of Kalapana in East Hawaii, Nicoco (a portmanteau of coconut and the couple's dog Nico—named for the Velvet Underground singer who's pictured in their logo) aimed to create a 100 percent organic, locally sourced vegan alternative at a price retired aunties could afford. The couple admits they had little frozen dessert knowledge back then, but they knew their plant-based recipes would have to rival the richness and texture of dairy.
The secret? Coconuts and science. With palms aplenty throughout Kalapana, fatty coconut milk was a natural point of departure. Simulating the silky texture of ice cream was another story. Extracting water from the coconut milk proved a partial solution, but it fell flat. A deep dive into gelato alchemy ensued.
Sean gets excited talking about flavor receptors and "overrun" (the volume of air injected, in ice cream-speak). "Our overrun tops out at 10 percent. Ice cream runs around 60 percent. And because gelato is served warmer, your tongue distinguishes flavors better." After conquering the texture conundrum, the couple rallied like-minded growers to collaborate. The chocolate, nuts, vanilla, coffee and fruit in Nicoco's gelato are sourced from family-owned Hawaii Island farms.
Drawing inspiration from local culture, fruits and flowers, favorites like Midnight Chocolate with ghost peppers, Ube Haupia and their turmeric-infused Lilikoi Lani are handcrafted in five-gallon batches and served in made-to-order gluten-free waffle cones. Once hydrosols (steam-distilled flowers) entered the mix, wild combinations like violet mango, lychee rose and jasmine mocha appeared on Nicoco's rotating roster of six hundred flavors. Tropical superfoods like spirulina and turmeric add color.
Despite lucrative offers to expand to neighbor islands and beyond, Nicoco is committed to staying local, with just one shop in Hilo; prepackaged pints are available at select retailers, including KTA, the Locavore Store and the Kaimu Korner Country Store.
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