Katelyn “Kate” Williams (2013 BACH H&SS) has always been an avid ice cream enjoyer – she stopped by the LSU Dairy Store for a scoop of banana fudge probably as much as she went to class.
After graduating from LSU, Williams’ boyfriend at the time, Brandon “Bimma” Williams, who is now her husband, got a job offer in Boston. They packed up and said goodbye to Louisiana while Williams worked through the post-grad feeling of trying to figure out a new adult life.
“I was brand new to a new city, so I started to try all the different ice creams around town,” Williams said. “I started tasting ice creams and reviewing them on my Tumblr blog. After reviewing them, I thought, ‘Well, let me start making ice cream.’”
When Williams went home to Lafayette, Louisiana, for Christmas that same year, she planned to gift her family homemade ice cream. Her plan was halted after learning that her youngest sister was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that prevented her from consuming dairy or gluten.
“I just couldn’t fathom the entire family eating this special gift that I was trying to serve and feed, and she’s just going to watch,” Williams said. “That was my first time really understanding that some people couldn’t have the classic ice cream experience.”
This marked the beginning of her journey of making ice cream everyone could enjoy. Her first attempt was awful, she said. It turns out you can’t just substitute one milk with another – it’s not that simple. Although she didn’t get it quite right the first time around, it didn’t deter her from trying again.
Sure, the Ben and Jerry’s and Breyers dairy-free options were there, but Williams wanted to make dairy-free less of an afterthought. While most businesses treat vegan options as an alternative, Williams saw it as a priority to make dairy-free ice cream that tasted just like dairy ice cream.
“There’s a lot of ice cream shops that focus on making dairy ice cream, and then they also offer vegan,” Williams said. “They’re not putting all their energy into perfecting it. It’s sort of a side thought – their craft has gone into perfecting what their product is, which is dairy ice cream.”
In the beginning, it was just Williams and her Cuisinart doing all the work for what eventually became her first attempt at an ice cream business, Scoop Sights. There was success, but without a proper business plan, it ultimately wasn’t making any money.
When Bimma got a new job that relocated them to Portland, she decided to leave Scoop Sights behind. Williams thought her entrepreneur life was over, and she was content with that. But when she landed in Portland, it was hard not to notice the lack of vegan ice cream businesses in the area.
“I thought I might be the one to do it,” Williams said, “because if I don’t do it, someone else will.”
In 2018, Williams decided to take a second stab at starting an ice cream business, this time with a partner. Her partner was an operational hub, she said, which was perfect for her to focus on recipe development and community engagement. But, due to different visions, the partnership fell through, so Williams was back at square one, this time with two failed ice cream businesses.
This took a toll on her confidence, but not enough to stop her from trying a third time.
“I told myself I was not stopping and was starting a third ice cream business, and this is the final one, so I’m slapping my name on this one,” Williams said.
Thus, Kate’s Ice Cream was born.
“Something inside me knew – I’m a Tiger, we don’t quit,” Williams said. “I knew the market for a plant-based, gluten-free ice cream was really ripe, and I knew the product had what it took if I could just figure out the right target to hit.”
Williams took many lessons from her first two attempts and applied them to Kate’s Ice Cream to help the business be successful. It’s been seven years since the first location opened, and it was recently named the best vegan ice cream spot in the country in 2024.
“There’s always so much failure before the success, so I like to share that I failed two ice cream businesses and the third one finally hit,” Williams said. “If you really believe in yourself and think you have what it takes, you should keep going.”
On top of Kate’s Ice Cream, Williams also has a gluten-free waffle cone business called Kate’s Waffle Cones that runs parallel to her ice cream business.
When a mom with her 7-year-old son told Williams at a farmer’s market booth that her son’s first time ever having a waffle cone was because of her gluten-free mix, she was shocked. When she first started her business, Williams said she didn’t realize just how many people live with restrictions in life.
With that in mind, Williams started brainstorming how to make the ice cream experience the most accessible it could be. When Bimma, who graduated from LSU in 2008, told her to consider selling the gluten-free waffle cone mix to ice cream shops around the country, Williams thought it was genius.
Today, Williams is a successful vegan ice cream business owner with a gluten-free waffle cone mix business on the side. In the future, she hopes to expand and maybe even bring a location to Louisiana. For now, she’s focused on continuing to give the classic ice cream experience to everyone.
“I’m so grateful that I’m able to share this story of entrepreneurship with the LSU Alumni Association because I think it’s important for students and alumni to see that starting a business is not just this sudden overnight glory,” Williams said.