ONEONTA, NY — Vêsucré’s flagship product, Plant de Crème, is a nod to the French, according to founder Sarah Hartmann, who created the plant-based, animal-free frozen treat brand in October 2022 after “experiencing the best scoop of pistachio ice cream in Paris” she has ever had.

Hartmann described Plant de Crème as “crème brûlée meets ice cream,” but formulated from oats, oat milk and sesame, and sweetened with dates.

The frozen treat is creamy on the bottom and crunchy on the top and comes in flavors of toffee crunch, espresso brownie, milk chocolate and golden milk.

“Vêsucré is a made-up French word, which to us means vegan sweets,” Hartmann said. “I became vegan four years ago per doctors’ orders after a medical crisis. I struggled to find a vegan frozen dessert that I liked. I wanted to have a frozen dessert that was rich, luscious and creamy. I wanted this dessert to taste like the first scoop of French ice cream I tried in Paris. It clearly had quite an impact on me because I went through rounds of research and development to get to that place.”

The company also makes its own oat milk, the main ingredient in Plant de Crème, and upcycles leftovers into other products.

“We are a zero-waste operation,” Hartmann said. “There’s a maple salted brownie that sits on top of our espresso brownie-flavored Plant de Crème and a few other products like a lava cake and a protein truffle.”

While Vêsucré is primarily focused on its Plant de Crème, the company is looking to innovate in other categories using its upcycled oat milk.

“We aim to compete in the snack bar or nutritional bar category,” she said. “We’re also looking at coffee creamer. We’ll take the same path that we’ve taken with Plant de Crème in initial tests. The coffee creamer will be in the refrigerated aisle and not shelf-stable. We’re also looking at a restaurant service or foodservice pack for our Plant de Crème.”

The company intentionally put Plant de Crème in half pints and sees its consumers paying more for a perceived premium product.

“It’s meant to be a generous single serve,” Hartmann said. “The packaging and size have tested well in the market. We want a healthy indulgence; that’s the way we’ve envisioned ourselves. Our market is folks who are foodies. They may or may not eat plant-based, but they will pay for a handcrafted, locally made product.”

As a plant-based brand, it is challenging to operate in the dairy belt of New York and appeal to some of those consumers. But Hartmann said they have started to come around to the product.

“When we first came to be, people looked at me like I had two heads,” she said. “We’re making vegan desserts; they didn’t know what vegan was. They couldn’t understand the need for it. I love it when they take the lid off the dessert, and it’s wonderful to see their surprise at how pretty it is. But when they take the first bite, they’re rolling their eyes and licking their lips and can’t get over how good it is.”

Vêsucré operates out of a commercial kitchen and hires members of the local community who have intellectual or developmental disabilities.

“We help our participants discover some talents that they might not have known they’ve had,” Hartmann said. “These folks are baking brownies, they’re making the oat milk and they’ve been developing new flavors.”

To expand operations, Vêsucré is launching a co-manufacturing facility through city and local organization grants. The company will work with other manufacturers unable to find co-packers willing to work with small minimum product amounts.

“It’s a food desert here in terms of food production, especially frozen food,” Hartmann said. “Vêsucré is working hard to solve the limited number of co-packers or co-manufacturers here because there’s no way to scale a business without a co-manufacturer. We believe it will be focused on frozen food and canned beverages like kombucha. At this stage, we’re looking at expanding beyond New York through distributors and eventually our own co-manufacturing business with an eye towards setting up a similar operation in the central United States and also California.”

While the plant-based, animal-free frozen market is declining, Vêsucré sees its product as an opportunity.

“It could’ve been a barrier trying to create a frozen plant-based product in the desert of New York,” Hartmann said. “But instead, we’ve pivoted to where there isn’t something like a co-packing facility. We’re going to find the right partners to create that and clone that model across the country.”