July 22, 2023
Baltimore’s Black-Owned Plant-Based Creamery Serves ‘Culturally Curious Flavors’
This sweet shop in Baltimore is the only one of its kind.
Cajou Creamery, a plant-based ice cream company, has whipped up some healthier alternatives to ice cream for the DMV community.
The creamery boasts super-premium ice cream options that are crafted using whole superfoods, and free from chemicals, artificial flavors, or fillers. “Our goal is to make ice cream better — better tasting, better for your body, and better for the planet,” the company says on its website.
Husband and wife Nicole Foster and Dwight Campbell own the creamery. According to WBAL-TV 11, the couple began crafting ice cream in 2016 to provide their lactose-intolerant children with a healthier and natural alternative to the sweet treat.
“We celebrate simplicity in ice cream, using a few responsibly-sourced, nutrient-rich ingredients to churn out flavors into luxurious, creamy, dairy-free ice cream. As a result of our purist standards, our small batch hand-crafted ice creams sing with the authenticity of pure ingredients,” the company wrote.
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Foster and Campbell create bases using handcrafted plant milks. “We handcraft the cashew milk,” Foster said. “We make the bases ourselves, and we flavor them ourselves.”
Cajou Creamery’s seven flavors represent cultures worldwide, inspired by their passion for travel and international cuisine. The globally-inspired flavors are sweet potato, blueberry cheesecake, baklava, horchata, kulfi, cortadito, and Mexican cacao.
Not only is the couple offering healthy dessert options, but the entrepreneurs have opened up opportunities for the incarcerated.
“We feel really deeply committed and passionate about giving returning citizens an opportunity — not only at a job, but because we are transitioning to a worker-owned co-op, an opportunity at ownership, and we hope by doing this we can transform communities,” Foster said.
Cajou ice creams are sold at Whole Foods and other stores, restaurants, and markets all over the area. The treats are also available at natural retail stores nationwide. Foster and Campbell are working to expand business with a second location in Baltimore.