After a procrastination session earlier this year, Emile Scheepers (21), an Engineering student at Stellenbosch University (SU), thought it well to start his own alcohol infused ice cream company.
Together with his girlfriend, Elsa Mijburgh (20), SU Accounting student, and their friends Henk Neethling (21), SU Marketing student, and Carmen Green (22), SU Industrial Psychology student, they are slowly making the dreams of their own ice cream company called Blushy Wine Infusions a reality.
“Emile once told me he started Googling ice cream recipes while procrastinating,” Green says laughing. “It wasn’t long after that the company started.”
Scheepers and Mijburgh first started the company as Blushy Slushy, focussing on only their pioneer product, a slushy with the same name, consisting of strawberries, Cabernet and vodka.
“As a New Year’s resolution, I really wanted to start my own company,” says Scheepers. “Elsa and I had this idea of selling wine slushies at local markets, but then we realised wine infused ice cream is more unique.”
The Blushy Slushy, the Blushy Wine Infusions pioneer product consisting of strawberries, Cabernet and vodka. PHOTO: Provided
According to Neethling, he found out about his high school friend’s idea and soon decided he should offer help with the branding and social media of the company. “I could see they had a great idea, but the social media pages were a bit incoherent,” Neethling says. “You need different people to bring different skill sets to a business.”
According to Neethling all four co-owners bring something special to the table and their study fields contribute immensely. “We all have different skills and we’ve known each other for quite a while,” he says. “Seeing that we are two couples running this business, we always joke and say we should be careful not to become the next ABBA.”
Henk Neethling (21), Carmen Green (22), Emile Scheepers (21) and Elsa Mijburgh (20) are the co-owners of Blushy Wine Infusions, a company that seeks to create proudly South African ice cream infused with alcohol. PHOTO: Jana Wentzel
According to Neethling, Scheepers and Mijburgh first saw a gap in the market when they went to local markets over weekends. “They discovered that there were few people selling ice cream,” Neethling says. “The ice cream that is available is extremely expensive and there isn’t really anything that is proudly South African.”
Neethling says that by infusing their products with alcohol, they are already placed one step ahead of competitors in a student environment like Stellenbosch.
“For now we don’t have any direct competitors in Stellenbosch,” Green says. “However, we know of one competitor from America trying to make their way to South Africa.”
Both Neethling and Green work on wine farms over weekends and during holidays, and say that they have quite some knowledge on wines and wine pairings. It is also because of this love for wine that they decided to offer Scheepers and Mijburgh help.
Emile Scheepers (21) and his girlfriend, Elsa Mijburgh (20), form half of the Blushy Wine Infusions team. PHOTO: Jana Wentzel
The team had a sample evening last month where friends got to taste and rate 13 different flavours in order to minimise the company’s variety to at least six.
“All guests rated each ice cream on presentation, smell and texture, and at the end of the night we had to listen to what they said,” Green says. “Although we only have six flavours now, we are planning on keeping the other flavours as options for bigger events or weddings.”
The top six flavours chosen after Blushy’s first sample tasting night include:
- Granadilla with a Twist (a granadilla and semi-sweet white wine combination),
- Lemon Zest Flavour Fest (a Muscadelle lemon curd creation),
- Sangria Sorbet (a vegan crafted sorbet made of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, rum and Cabernet blend),
- Maroela Melktert (ice cream infused with maroela flavoured liqueur, capped off with a dash of cinnamon),
- Dark Choc Shiraz (ice cream infused with a full-bodied Shiraz, served with dark chocolate), and finally,
- the Brandy Biscotti (chocolate biscotti flavoured ice cream infused with a fortified red wine and brandy).
PHOTO ESSAY: The six different flavours Blushy Wine Infusions currently has to offer. PHOTOS: Provided
“My favourite flavour was the Dark Choc Shiraz,” says Antoinette Pepler (23), SU Industrial Psychology student and attendee of the Blushy sample tasting evening. “Because of the dark chocolate the ice cream is not too sweet, and nothing beats a wine-chocolate-ice cream combination.”
The team admits that they are particularly proud of the Maroela Melktert and Sangria Sorbet creation. “The Sangria Sorbet is completely vegan,” says Green. “This recipe is both gluten- and lactose free and we even replaced the gelatin with agar.”
According to Neethling and Green some of the flavours that did not make the cut included Pineapple & Sauvignon, as it was too icy, Litchi Rosé, which was a bit too creamy, Pinotage & Banana, Peach, and Strawberry.
Although there will only be six flavours for sale at first, the team is already thinking about future flavours. Number one on this list is, of course, a gin infused ice cream.
“We won’t only be experimenting with flavours,” Green says. “We look forward to experimenting with alcohol like rum and gin as well.”
“The only flavour we won’t be making is beer,” Neethling says laughing. “We’d have to see, but I think a taste like that would be rather strange.”
Henk Neethling (21) and his girlfriend, Carmen Green (22), make up the other half of Blushy Wine Infusions. PHOTO: Jana Wentzel
Although the company is not ready to sell their products by individual orders yet, they are open to events such as annual house dances, 21st birthday parties and weddings.
“We can’t sell our products by individual orders yet, we have to run it through a few tests first,” Neethling says. “For now, we are planning on testing the product’s shelf life and alcohol percentage first. If we serve our ice cream at venues where there are alcohol licences, it’s fine. But we have to get our own license first before focussing on individual sales.”
According to Neethling, Blushy was offered a spot at the Slow Market, but the team would like to fine-tune their product in terms of packaging first. Green says it’s easier to prepare ice creams for events and weddings ahead of time as the deposits they receive help them to rent machinery such as emulsifiers, which they cannot afford to buy at the moment.
“Blushed will be a subdivision of Blushy that will cater for events such as weddings,” Green says. “We feel that Blushy is a bit more quirky, whereas blushed is more elegant.”
To summarise their ice cream? “Unique, proudly South African, and refreshing – that’s how we would like to describe it,” Neethling and Green says.
- Catch the Blushy Wine Infusions cart at:
The Private Hotel School (4 October)
- Or follow them on social media to see at which markets they will be:
- Follow this story map to see all local markets:
(Click on the icons on the map for more information about each market)