Island Treasures: Nicoco Hawaiian Gelato

Perhaps you’ve seen it around, the adorable smiling face of the big-eyed white wolf pup, paired with the soft baby blues and cotton candy pinks reminiscent of those perfect sunset skies. It makes you lick your lips just thinking about it: Nicoco Hawaiian Gelato. They have been hard to miss since their inception in 2012, at the circus-like S.P.A.C.E market, and their non-stop presence at the heart of Uncle Robert’s Night Market. Nicoco has continued to blossom from there, growing organically as a grassroots company with the support of their community and a tireless dedication to the highest quality.

Nicoco is Hawai‘i’s first and only all-vegan and gluten-free gelato company. In 2012, co-creators Sean Crowne and Ashley Campbell started making small batches of gelato for their neighbors in Kalapana, who quickly encouraged them to bring their creations to the local farmersʻ market. The young couple sold out of everything in only a few short hours on their first day, and their products have a record of doing so almost daily at the market, in stores, and at their shops. Their popularity is understandable, with over 400 rotating seasonal flavors that ranging from truly rich, like their Keawe Chocolate Caramel, Juniper Mint, and Golden Macadamia; to airy and delicate, such as their floral line featuring flavors like Rose Petal Pistachio, Wildberry Lavender, and Violet Mango. All flavors are all made in limited edition handmade batches. Hawai‘i and island living inspires their signature flavors, which change daily.

Buying, foraging, and supporting local farmers to get Hawai‘i Island-grown ingredients is, and has always been, part of Nicoco’s mission. Whether it’s hand-pressing their own coconut cream, crafting their own jams, growing fresh herbs and spices, sourcing turmeric from a farmer down the road, pollinating fresh vanilla beans to make their own vanilla extract or picking lychees off a tree at a friend’s house, the ingredients for each gelato are delicious, locally sourced, raw, never heated, fresh, in season, and organic.

In 2017, Nicoco opened its first store in historic downtown Pāhoa and within the same year, opened the doors to a second location in Hilo, with plans for a third already in the works. Nicoco is truly a story of fire and ice, as they base their roots in Kalapana and are the closest gelato shop to exist next to an active lava flow. And through last yearʻs lava flows, earthquakes, and hurricanes, Sean and Ashley steadfastly served their community, offering smiles, scoops, freshly made gluten-free waffle cones, and their newest addition: one-of-a-kind gelato cakes, all delivered with love and aloha.

Nicoco’s decadent and delicious gelatos are now available in many retail outlets, and all of the trendiest and hottest restaurants, resorts and farmers’ markets around Hawai‘i Island. Those include Herbivores in Kona, Under the Bodhi Tree at the Shops at Mauna Lani in the Kohala resort area, and in Hilo, Conscious Culture Cafe, and the beloved Lucy’s Taqueria. For a complete list of retail outlets, please visit their website. Sean and Ashley are very selective in the venues that carry their gelato, making sure that their visions of sustainability and positive growth for the island are aligned with the conscious Nicoco lifestyle.

Nicoco has established a successful model for sustainable businesses that supports the local farming community and produces delicious, healthy, crowd-pleasing treats that can’t be rivaled, and that local eateries are proud to offer. They are committed to positive social changes, Hawai‘i sovereignty, and a cruelty-free living. Nicocoʻs lifestyle, combining environmental responsibility, local sourcing and aloha spirit, is one you can be proud to be a part of.

Nicoco Hawaiian Gelato
808.965.6554
NicocoHawaiianGelato@gmail.com
nicocohawaii.com