Nurture Your Ideas, Business With Confidence

Katey Evans, Co-Founder of The Frozen Farmer

Rooted from our family farm, Evans Farms in Bridgeville, The Frozen Farmer was established as a way to be rewarded for our full harvest by using misfit fruit ingredients that would otherwise go to waste in our line of frozen confections including ice cream, sorbet, and Frobert — a blend of ice cream and sorbet. What started as a small family business in a 600-square-foot kitchen that was previously being used as a storage closet, has grown to a brand found on the shelves of major grocery retailers nationwide after we were on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

Take Waste, Make Frobert

It has been one of the best ideas I’ve ever had. So what is Frobert? Part ice cream and part sorbet, Frobert is an entirely new-to-the-category product that reduces the fat and calorie content of traditional ice cream without sacrificing flavor or creaminess.

Don’t Start A Business Just To Make Money — Make A Difference

More than 20% of fruits in America don’t make it off the farm resulting in billions of pounds of food waste annually, and for farm families like mine – this means a major loss in profits. Our passion for reducing food waste eventually turned into a profitable venture.

Have Faith That’s Bigger Than Fear

Pursuing your passion can be scary, especially when it presents a financial risk or a career change but know that everything will happen exactly as it should. Fear is temporary but regret is forever.

Turn “Impossible” Into “I’m Possible”

Since we opened The Frozen Farmer, people have told us we needed to pitch our business to “Shark Tank,” but we thought our chances were impossible. It wasn’t until Bethenny Frankel, founder of the Skinnygirl brand (and former guest shark on “Shark Tank”) encouraged us to contact the show that I decided to turn “impossible” into “I’m possible” and we landed the feature home package episode of Season 11.

Use Thoughts To Become Things

Not only do I set goals and write them down, but I also visualize how it feels to have already achieved them. Then I work backward and logically plan how to accomplish them.

You Don’t Have To Control Your Thoughts, You Just Have To Stop Letting Them Control You

Stressful situations are a part of life and sometimes part of building a brand too. Once you learn how to stop letting your thoughts control your actions, you win.

Strong Brands Aren’t Built Through Shortcuts Or Copycats

We wanted to stay authentic to who we are as farmers and create a product that was completely unique and different than anything else on the shelf. Being different has given our brand a competitive edge.

Protect Your Product

We’ve protected our product, Frobert, by filing the trademark applications to own the name of our unique product. If you have a unique idea, protect it.

Be Proud Of Who You Are, Use It To Your Advantage

Do you know how many people laughed at the idea of using misfit fruit in our flavors or how many times I’ve been ridiculed for being a female business owner? It was the uniqueness of our sustainability mission to incorporate misfit fruit ingredients that got us the opportunity on “Shark Tank.” And after appearing on the show, I was certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) for being a woman-owned business — something that’s helped my business grow substantially.

Don’t Stop Until You’re Proud

And even then, keep going. It seems like yesterday that my family was gathered around the Sunday supper table talking about our business plan and making a timeline of opening our dream farm creamery. I woke up every day with the heart of a child to learn something new, eager to grow something from nothing. Now here we are about to set the shelf of locations nationwide and I still have that same feeling of excitement as I approach each workday. There’s always room to achieve more, do more, be more, give more. That’s what life and business is all about.