The company consists of Frenchwoman Brandy de la Court, the unofficial "boss" tough Irish-American Sean Mercer, who heads the catching expeditions retired German race car driver Kurt Müller Mexican Bullfighter Luis Francisco Garcia Lopez Native American sharpshooter Little Wolf (aka "The Indian") zoophobic former NYC cabbie "Pockets" and several native staff. “I never doubted Liv A Little, but I’m so impressed by how far it’s come.”įor more information, visit Tanganyika in the 1960s, the Momella Game Company captures animals for zoos and circuses using off-road vehicles, lassos, and cages. Being a younger entrepreneur-she’s 25 years old- she’s proceeding with caution and growing at her own pace. “This is so much fun and doesn’t feel like a real job,” Menzia says. Dates are announced on Instagram and Facebook. Liv A Little is on the menus at Dead Bird Brewing Company and Strange Town, and she does pop-ups and markets such as Milwaukee Night Market and Milwaukee Makers Market. Her newest flavor, Puppy Chow, which she custom-made for a wedding, also ranks near the top. Lately, I’m really liking Toasty Coco Crunch,” she says. She’s looking to partner with a local grocery store to carry the Liv A Little line.ĭoes she have a favorite flavor? “It depends on my mood.
Menzia tries to have her most popular flavors in stock but cannot always keep a full freezer due to space. We ran out of coffee creamer, so my dad went to the freezer, took out a container of Warm Hugs, and put some in his coffee.” The creamer came about while I was at home visiting family. “It’s the ice cream base before it goes in the ice cream machine. Two flavors of coffee creamer, Warm Hugs and Peppermint, came about by accident. Those that love the classics can enjoy flavors like Small & Mighty Mint Chip. There are also grown-up flavors like I Love You So Much Matcha, with fresh matcha from local Rishi paired with an ice cream base. Big League Scoop is a bubble gum flavored base with sprinkles. Strawberry Pop Tart Pie has crumbles of the popular breakfast pastries crumbled into a strawberry base. The popular Warm Hugs is a chai flavored ice cream with pieces of vanilla cinnamon Oreos sprinkled throughout. A glance at the menu easily transports you back to childhood. The flavors are driven by nostalgia, along with Menzia’s desire to offer flavors that nobody else has.
“After ice cream school, I was able to crack the code and make my own oat milk.”
She learned formulas and how to find plant alternatives for dairy recipes. She changed her recipe after taking the Ice Cream Short Course at Penn State’s Department of Food Science this past winter.
It was challenging, and it took a lot of feedback.” “The base I have now tastes so much different than the base I started with.
I could focus on getting licensing, find a commercial kitchen, and put time into it to build the business into something real.” Flavors Inspired by NostalgiaĪfter a lot of time, trial and error, Menzia tweaked her ice cream base by adding oat milk. “My life had slowed down, and I wasn’t doing anything socially. When the pandemic hit, she was laid off from her graphic design job and had more time on her hands. She won a $7,500 grant in the Brewed Ideas Challenge, which allowed her to buy a vending cart. Liv A Little launched in the spring of 2019, shortly before Menzia graduated from Marquette. “They said, ‘you should sell this.’ I said, ‘OK, I will!’” “So many people enjoyed it and didn’t even realize it was dairy-free,” Menzia says. Using a coconut milk base, she hit on some vegan ice cream recipes that went over well at parties and potlucks. Menzia’s not vegan, but she started experimenting with dairy-free recipes when she found that many of her friends with dietary restrictions couldn’t enjoy her ice cream. Her 18 flavors of vegan ice cream have become popular with vegans and non-vegans. Then she received an ice cream maker during her senior year at Marquette University, which ultimately led her to form Liv A Little Ice Cream LLC. Although she seemed destined to be in the ice cream business, it wasn’t on her radar. While growing up in Prospect Heights, Illinois, her grandfather had worked on an ice cream truck, and her father scooped ice cream while in high school. Olivia “Liv” Menzia had always loved ice cream.