After Sarah Hartmann adopted a vegan diet in 2020, she ran into a big problem: she couldn’t find a vegan-friendly frozen dessert she liked.
So Hartmann, who built a career in non-profits and sports marketing, got to work developing her own. What she created was more than just a delicious dessert – it became an emerging business that continues to give back to Hartmann’s hometown of Oneonta, New York.
With the help of a friend in the frozen food industry who came onboard as an advisor and several rounds of development and testing, they came up with a frozen oat-and-sesame-based dessert that’s sweetened with dates and is free of dairy, soy, gluten and refined sugars.
She initially named her creation “Salty and Sweet Frosty Treat,” but the long name proved to be a mouthful. Simply calling it “vegan ice cream” didn’t do it justice either.
That led to calling the frozen dessert “plant de crème” and naming her company Vêsucré. Designed to evoke images of French pot de crème or crème brulée, Vêsucré is sold in individual cups and topped with a variety of sauces and toppings, such as toffee and brownie pieces made with the spent oats used to make the base of the creamy dessert.