Wanderlust Creamery

Wanderlust Creamery
Company typePrivate
IndustryDessert
FoundedAugust 2015
FoundersAdrienne Borlongan
Jon-Patrick Lopez
Number of locations
7 (2024)
Area served
Southern California
Websitewanderlustcreamery.com

Wanderlust Creamery is an American chain of ice cream parlors serving Southern California. It is known for its variety of unique flavors, which has attracted attention to it on social media and other platforms.[1][2]

History

The company was founded by husband-and-wife couple Adrienne Borlongan and Jon-Patrick Lopez. Borlongan's grandfather worked for Magnolia, a leading ice cream brand in the Philippines.[3][4] They had previously opened a booth at Smorgasburg Los Angeles and opened the chain's first location in Tarzana, Los Angeles in August 2015.[5][6][7][8] It opened its second location, in Atwater Village in 2017.[9] The company went viral and experienced a significant burst in popularity when it collaborated with Foodbeast to release a limited flavor based on the White Rabbit milk candy in 2019.[10][11][12][13] It had also received attention when there were flavors inspired by Filipino culture, Game of Thrones, and breakfast at Café du Monde.[1][14] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was able to recuperate from its losses by shipping their ice cream throughout the United States.[15][16] It opened its first Orange County store in Irvine in 2023.[17][18] The creamery also collaborated with Bretman Rock in October 2023 to create the "Da Fruity Salad" flavor, in celebration of Filipino American History Month.[19][20]

Wanderlust Creamery has 16 signature flavors, which are not rotated out after the season. These include ube malted crunch, vegan malted ube, mango sticky rice, Kinder, Abuelita malted crunch, vanilla, pistachio, Japanese neapolitan ice cream (made from matcha, sakura, and Hokkaido milk), Vietnamese rocky road, Earl Grey milk chocolate, black sesame cookies and cream, pandan tres leches, passionfruit cacao, smoky road, and hokey pokey.[21]

Locations

As of 2024, the chain has seven locations, in Atwater Village, Fairfax, Irvine, Pasadena, Sawtelle Japantown, Tarzana, and Venice. It also participates in Los Angeles' Smorgasburg, occupying a weekly stall there.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Wang, Andy (March 2, 2019). "White Rabbit Ice Cream Hits L.A., and Everything Gets Crazy". AOL. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Snyder, Kristin (October 25, 2018). "Sugarcoated: Wanderlust Creamery offers a tasty trip around the globe with aesthetic ice cream". Daily Bruin. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Thompson, Kat (July 13, 2020). "Meet the Ice Cream Company Creating Flavors Inspired By Travel". Thrillist. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ Zavala, JJ (October 11, 2023). "LA-based Wanderlust Creamery serves up flavors inspired by owners' Filipino American upbringing". ABC7. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Tse, Tiffany (April 4, 2022). "The Absolute Best Ice Cream Shops in LA". Thrillist. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Elliott, Farley (July 9, 2015). "Tarzana Cools Down With Wanderlust Creamery, Crafting Ice Cream From Scratch Next Month". Eater LA. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Elliott, Farley (August 28, 2015). "Wanderlust Saves Tarzana With Ice Cream, El Chavo Could be Changing, More A.M. Intel". Eater LA. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Bitas, Liezel (February 13, 2020). "Sweet Dreams: Matador Couple Scoops Up Artisanal Ice Cream Empire". CSUN Today. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Victorioso, Steffi (March 27, 2017). "This Ice Cream Shop Is Worth the Ungodly Drive to Tarzana". Los Angeles. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Yu, Henna (February 25, 2019). "Get Ready to Feel Nostalgic: White Rabbit Ice Cream Exists". Spot.ph. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "No Way! People Are Actually Selling White Rabbit Ice Cream". Hype MY. February 26, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  12. ^ "China's traditional White Rabbit sweets star in Los Angeles ice cream". Today. March 9, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Marcus, Lilit; Wong, Maggie Hiufu (March 16, 2022). "How Shanghai's White Rabbit candy became a globally beloved brand". CNN. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Lutz, Megan (July 27, 2017). "These 7 Game of Thrones-Inspired Ice Creams Prove That Winter Is Here". PopSugar. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  15. ^ Lorenzana, Paolo (February 5, 2021). "This LA-based ice cream chain is touring Americans in lockdown via Filipino flavors". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  16. ^ "Success is sweet: How an artisanal ice cream shop pivoted during the pandemic and came out stronger". The Business Journals. May 12, 2022. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  17. ^ Mosqueda, Sarah (May 18, 2023). "Wanderlust Creamery makes the trek to Orange County". Daily Pilot. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  18. ^ Tanaka, Jennifer (May 25, 2023). "Wanderlust Creamery opens first Orange County shop in Irvine". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  19. ^ Villegas, Mary; mvillegas (October 9, 2023). "Bretman Rock: No pumpkin spice ice cream on Fil-Am History Month". Inquirer. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  20. ^ "Bretman Rock comes up with new ice cream flavor for Golden Gays' benefit". GMA Integrated News. October 8, 2023. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Official website". Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.