Tyler Malek of Salt & Straw talks about starting an ice cream business and his latest collection of flavors.
Meet Tyler Malek, a self-described “Churnmaster” and “Flavor Czar” who teamed up with his cousin Kim to launch the ice cream shop Salt & Straw. Based in Portland, Oregon, Salt & Straw is more than your average ice cream shop — they’re an ice cream community. Through their collaborations with local makers, farmers, and chefs, Salt & Straw whips up concoctions with a purpose. They aim to not only encourage consumers to indulge but to also learn about the creators behind the ice cream scoop. “I loved the idea of ice cream being a vehicle to take people on taste adventures discovering local artisans and flavors,” Tyler told us.
Their latest focus? Encouraging kids to dive into a book this summer. Salt & Straw has partnered with Scholastic to create delicious flavors that were inspired by five books. From Goosebumps by R.L. Stine to Smile by Raina Telgemeier, these flavors bring the magic of reading to life through delicious scoops of ice cream. We talked to Tyler about the Rad Readers menu, starting an ice cream business, and his favorite flavor to indulge in this summer.
You can order Salt & Straw ‘Pints of the Moment’ here.
Katie Couric Media: What inspired you to join forces with your cousin to launch an ice cream business?
Tyler Malek: My story is a bit of a trip. I had been studying and preparing to work in Beijing when a death in my family forced me to rethink my future. I quickly realized that food and, specifically, ice cream had a very special power to bring people together in fun and interesting ways.
When we were starting Salt & Straw [my cousin] Kim and I had deep passions in what food could do in the community. For her, she loved the idea of an ice cream shop breaking down barriers and bringing people together. For me, I loved the idea of ice cream being a vehicle to take people on taste adventures discovering local artisans and flavors. We started initially in a little cart here in Portland, Oregon and built a passionate team, customers, and culture that has been incredible to leverage and grow over the last 10 years.
Neither of you had ever made ice cream before launching Salt & Straw. What would you tell entrepreneurs starting out who may not have all of the answers?
Never making ice cream before starting Salt & Straw was our superpower. I know that sounds funny, but that willingness to learn and evolve is what led us to working closely with creative partners all around the city ranging from chocolatiers to tea makers to charcuteries. Partnerships with the city of Portland became our passion and it’s what led us to create thoughtful and creative ice cream flavors. My number one advice to entrepreneurs is to be curious, thoughtful, and leave your ego at the door.
Salt & Straw is not your average ice cream parlor. What makes your scoops and flavors different?
Our ice cream is unique because visiting Salt & Straw is way more than just coming in for a scoop of ice cream, it’s a taste provoking adventure! We like to think about the entire process of eating Salt & Straw starting with the moment a customer walks into the shop, they should feel transported into a different world. When they start working with customers they should feel seen and taken care of. By the time they’ve sampled flavors and ordered a scoop the story should just blossom on their tastebuds and create a mind bending experience.
Your team has partnered with Scholastic for the Rad Readers menu to help encourage summer reading. What inspired the idea?
Working with authors from the Scholastic family is a dream come true! We are in love with the idea of telling stories with ice cream and these authors are masterminds of doing just that. Spending time to pick their brains, read all of their books, and brainstorm how to capture each of their voices into scoops of ice cream was inspiring, to say the least.
I’ve been an avid reader since I was very young and strongly believe that that sense of discovery is one of the most pivotal things that has shaped my creative lifestyle. Creating ice cream from books is like creating a physical (rather tasty) manifestation of reading and learning. I hope that it inspires kids all around the country to pick up a book and think about reading in new ways.
You worked with the authors to come up with five flavors to bring their tales to life with unique flavors. How was the taste-testing process? What was the best part about working with such incredible authors?
It was surreal and humbling to work with these authors. It was fun for all of us to share a creative “sandbox” together. There were real synergies as we all love to research ideas, consider new twists and create transportive moments. Here, we just used ice cream ingredients rather than words to tell the stories.
I’ll save the hardest one for last — what’s your favorite flavor from the Rad Readers menu?
As with books in a bookstore… I can’t possibly choose just one. It depends on the story you are in the mood to eat!
Want to try Salt & Straw’s delicious new flavors? Enter to win one of 10 bundles here.
