Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Gentry.
Hi Charlie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story, and how did you get to where you are today?
TruJoy Yogurt was born out of the desire to have an ice cream alternative emphasizing clean ingredients, not just nutrition. At the time of inception, I was training for an Ironman triathlon, guzzling tons of calories (and ice cream) after long training sessions. So many of the snacks I consumed had clean ingredients, and I thought, ‘Why shouldn’t my ice cream be made with clean and wholesome ingredients as well?’ With that in mind, I began teaching myself ice cream. I bought a 300-page text book about ice cream (yes, that exists!) and started playing and experimenting with different ingredients and recipes. It was essential to me that Greek Yogurt was the #1 ingredient in what would later become TruJoy Yogurt because it is packed with protein and probiotics. After a few batches, I quickly learned that it was easy to make it taste good, but getting that rich and creamy texture that you know and love in your ice cream is difficult when you limit the ingredients and calories the finished product can have. After about 150 batches, I landed on a recipe that had the right balance of tangy yogurt and creamy indulgence. In May of 2023, I took a leap of faith, and we did our first production run, essentially turning my life savings into something that could melt away!
We started with five flavors – Classic Tart, Lemon Velvet, Madagascar Vanilla Bean, Blueberry Parfait & Strawberry. TruJoy caught a lucky break and was quickly brought in by Central Market across the state. I spent the summer making deliveries to small stores across Austin, all out of the back of my Toyota 4Runner (I went through tons of dry ice!) and running around the state promoting TruJoy Yogurt at Central Market. We added two new flavors in October – Coffee & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip! We hope to add more flavors too, so if anyone has ideas, please reach out and we will try to make it for you!
Why call it ‘TruJoy Yogurt’? Because ‘TruJoy’ is ‘Yogurt’ spelled backward, but with a ‘J’! We aim to make the world happier and healthier by making healthy choices easy! We are in several stores across Austin, including Wheatsville Co-op, Royal Blue Grocery, Fresh Plus, Royal Blue Grocery, and several places at the University of Texas. 2024 will also be a big year for us, as we will launch with Market Street and Whole Foods Market and maybe even a few more!
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
So far, we have been lucky! There are no doubt challenges every day, though; just keeping stuff frozen is a chore. The biggest challenges were early on, trying to figure out how to make this stuff from a standing start. Vendors only take you seriously when you have something to show them regarding sales. It took a lot of trips to ice cream factories and creating an ‘@trujoyyogurt.com’ email addres before folks finally started to take me seriously. The biggest challenge was making TruJoy Yogurt in a way that would preserve the live & active cultures in the yogurt. Several laws require you to pasteurize the dairy (which kills the probiotics), and I had to figure out how to mix and flavor our dairy while also keeping the cultures alive. Our frozen yogurt’s live and active culture is one of the most attractive benefits!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about TruJoy Yogurt?
We are on a mission to make the world happier and healthier by making the healthy choice easy. A healthy lifestyle goes far beyond what we eat and how we exercise; it’s all about balance. You need to treat yourself in a way that won’t leave you feeling guilty. TruJoy Yogurt makes that choice easy; you can have your sweet treat every day, nourishing your mind and your body at the same time. TruJoy Yogurt is committed to giving you an elevated frozen dessert alternative. We only use Simple, Natural & Timeless Ingredients to make our Frozen Greek Yogurt. We are not trying to be something we are not or trying to play into any health fad. Our products are made from simple ingredients that have stood the test of time; we hope that TruJoy Yogurt will, too!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
- Likes:The entrepreneurial energy – everybody here is trying to do something exciting and different. There is so much room to collaborate.
- The lifestyle:There is always something to do! Run around the lake, check out a new venue or show, and the list continues.
- The food:There are almost too many exciting restaurants, all with interesting flavors from around the world.
- Dislikes:Traffic – but you can dodge it if you are smart about it!
Pricing:
- $7.99-8.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trujoyyogurt.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trujoyyogurt/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trujoy-yogurt/
