New York's Van Leeuwen ice cream lands in Gangnam

Brand born from a Brooklyn truck in 2008, now with 100+ US stores

Enters Korea through master franchise deal with Twosome Place

'No artificial additives or stabilizers; twice the egg yolks'

Single scoop at 5,500 won; four vegan flavors also on offer

Van Leeuwen's first store in Korea, the Gangnam location, opens Thursday. [Kim Jin]

"We are thrilled to contribute to the sophisticated culinary spirit of Korean people."

Van Leeuwen, a premium ice cream brand from New York, has arrived in Korea. Co-founder and CEO Ben Van Leeuwen made the remarks at a media event held Wednesday morning near Gangnam Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to mark the opening of the brand's first Korean store. "Just as we do in the United States, we plan to introduce new flavors and ingredients here in Korea," he said.

Van Leeuwen was born in 2008 from a single ice cream truck in Brooklyn, New York. The brand set out to challenge the notion that ice cream trucks meant cheap treats, instead offering premium ice cream made with top-quality ingredients. It has since become a favorite of global stars including Ed Sheeran and Sabrina Carpenter. As of January, the brand operates more than 100 company-owned scoop shops in major US cities and sells through more than 10,000 retail channels.

The brand entered Korea after signing a master franchise agreement with Twosome Place in February. Its first location, the Gangnam store, sits next to Twosome Place's Central Gangnam outlet.

Moon Young-ju, CEO of Twosome Place, said at the event that Van Leeuwen "is a brand that aligns with the premium dessert direction Twosome Place has long pursued." Moon added that the brand's "unwavering philosophy of making the best ice cream, backed by outstanding product quality, will deliver a new premium ice cream experience to Korean consumers and bring a fresh change to the domestic ice cream market."

Moon went on to say that "Twosome Place's new vision is to grow into the most beloved global food and beverage platform for our customers," adding that Van Leeuwen would serve as a vehicle for Twosome Place to "expand its business into global markets, discover and introduce world-class brands, and leap forward as a global multi-brand company."

Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and CEO of Van Leeuwen, speaks at a media event near Gangnam Station in Seoul on Wednesday morning to celebrate the opening of the brand's first Korean store. [Kim Jin]

Van Leeuwen's five signature flavors. From left: vanilla bean, Earl Grey tea, Sicilian pistachio, mint chip, and brown sugar cookie dough brownie. [Twosome Place]

Top-grade vanilla bean and pistachio — single scoop at 5,500 won

Van Leeuwen products are made with egg yolks, milk, cream, cane sugar and salt as the base ingredients, with additional components varying by flavor — and always sourced at the highest quality. The signature vanilla bean flavor, for instance, uses whole-ground Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar, while the Sicilian pistachio uses premium pistachios sourced from volcanic soil on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, harvested every two years.

Kim Shin-young, executive vice president of Twosome Place, said the products contain "no artificial additives, no artificial coloring and no stabilizers," adding that they use "more than twice the egg yolks of a typical ice cream, giving it a rich, full-bodied flavor."

The Korean lineup features 24 flavors in total. The five signatures are vanilla bean, Sicilian pistachio, Earl Grey tea, mint chip, and brown sugar cookie dough brownie. Four vegan options are also available. The brand plans to roll out new flavors over time, in the vein of the novelty offerings it launched in the US — including mac and cheese, pizza and sunscreen flavors — that generated buzz stateside.

Prices are 5,500 won for a single (100g, one flavor), 6,500 won for a double (120g, two flavors), 9,500 won for a triple (180g, three flavors), 15,500 won ($10) for a pint or pint sampler (330g, three flavors), and 27,500 won for a quart (620g, four flavors). Customers can add a waffle cone or toppings for an extra 1,000 won. Five sundae options and three milkshakes are each priced at 8,500 won.

Kim said that while portion sizes differ, a single cup in the US runs $8 to $9 — equivalent to around 14,000 won at the current exchange rate — and that Korean prices were set "as reasonably as possible so customers can enjoy it." Single-cup prices at other premium ice cream brands in Korea include Baskin-Robbins at 3,900 won, Paul Bassett at 4,300 won and Benson at 5,300 won.

The interior of Van Leeuwen's Gangnam store, designed to evoke the window of an ice cream truck. [Kim Jin]

Vanilla-hued store brings the yellow ice cream truck to life

As the flagship location, the Gangnam store was designed to embody Van Leeuwen's identity. Taking vanilla — one of the brand's signature flavors — as its theme, the interior and exterior are dressed in soft yellow. Decorations are kept to a minimum, reflecting the brand's philosophy of using no artificial additives, and the overall impression is clean and monochromatic.

The counter where customers receive their orders is styled to resemble a truck window, and the wall freezer displaying the products is finished with a design that mimics peering through a truck's window. Items from the brand's early days are on display alongside photographs from its New York roots. The store also features Van Leeuwen's signature motto: "A LIFE WITHOUT ANYTHING GOOD IS BAD."

Van Leeuwen plans to grow to three stores this month, starting with Thursday's opening of the Gangnam location. A second store will open July 23 at Sweet Park on the first below-ground floor of Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch. A third location, at Sinnonhyeon Station, is also set to open later this month. Over the longer term, the brand is considering opening a "Flavor Lab" — a specialty store where it experiments with unusual flavors, as it does in the US — in Korea as well.

Meanwhile, Van Leeuwen's entry is expected to intensify competition in the premium ice cream segment around Gangnam Station, where Baskin-Robbins, Paul Bassett and Benson already operate multiple stores.

soho0902@heraldcorp.com