Artisanal ice cream sandwich company expanding to the neighbor islands, mainland

After 10 years of business on Oʻahu, Uncle’s Ice Cream is expanding, bringing its artisanal ice cream sandwiches to the neighbor islands and mainland states.

After attracting more than 750 investors and achieving crowdfunding milestones, Uncle’s is soon wrapping up and investment campaign with StartEngine, which allowed local fans and longtime customers to invest in the business.

“We’ve been simply blown away by the number of passionate fans who wanted to invest in our brand, whether it was $200 or $2,500,” said co-owner Paul Logan.  “We welcome all of them to the Uncle’s ‘ohana as we grow together.”

A new production plant in Las Vegas, Nevada is nearly complete, which will allow Uncle’s to distribute their treats to stores throughout the Southwest, including cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix.

Uncle’s is also expanding its existing facility in Waialua, responding to demand for their iconic ice cream treats across Hawai’i.  The goal is to bring Uncle’s to Maui, Hawai’i Island and Kaua’i in 2023.

Founded on the North Shore of O‘ahu, Uncle’s offers premium, individually-wrapped ice cream sandwiches in dozens of tropical and traditional flavors.

A few examples include: 

• Lilikoʻi – tangy passion fruit ice cream on old fashioned sugar cookies
• North Shore Coffee – rich Hawaiian coffee ice cream on dark chocolate cookies
• Funky Monkey – caramelized banana & chocolate chip ice cream on chocolate chip cookies 
• Ube – purple sweet potato ice cream on old fashioned sugar cookies
• POG –a classic island favorite, combining the flavors of lilikoʻi, guava and orange
• Honey Lavender – Hawai‘i honey & Maui lavender ice cream on sugar cookies 

And that’s only the beginning. There are also classics like Mint Chocolate Chip, Cookies n’ Cream, It’s a Party and Sea Salt Caramel Swirl along with unique creations like Orange Cream, Honey Peanut Butter, Mac Nut Rocky Road and several vegan options.  Uncle’s also does regular flavor collaborations with Hawaiian Host®.

“It’s incredible to think back on our humble beginnings at Waimea Valley Farmers Market in 2013 and see how far we’ve come, with more than 100 retail locations now on O’ahu,” said co-owner Barbara Logan. “We are so excited to make Las Vegas the hub of our Southwest distribution, initially into the Whole Foods stores in the region. We’re also working just as hard to expand the production capacity on the North Shore, so we can spread a taste of ALOHA to more folks throughout Hawai’i and the US.”

Business and life partners for more than 35 years, Paul and Barbara Logan “Uncle” Paul is a self-taught chef and former restaurant owner who grew up on O‘ahu.  Both the cookies and the ice cream are made in small batches in their commercial kitchen at the old Waialua Sugar Mill on Oʻahu’s North Shore.  

Uncle’s Ice Cream has evolved to become one of Hawai‘i’s 50 fastest-growing companies for the last four years running with Pacific Business News.