# Proof Hard Ice Cream

Alcohol infused ice cream

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/proof.hard.ice.cream
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:199911
- Last updated: 2026-09-17T12:11:05Z
- Generated at: 2026-09-17T14:35:27Z

## Quick facts
- 500+ retail locations live across 5 states
- On shelf at Costco, Walmart, Total Wine & More, Food Lion, Harris Teeter
- ~$1M revenue in 2025; targeting $2.5M+ in 2026
- Proprietary molecular binder technology — trade-secret protected
- In-house production facility built to scale to $20M+ in annual output
- Leadership from Diageo, Coca-Cola, Dreyer's, Burger King, PopSockets
- Women-owned, SC Best in Business multi-year recipient
- $5M total raise to reach cash-flow positive

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:166257: 4(a)(6) open (USD)

## Story
We Built the Category. Now We’re Ready to Own the Market.PROOF Hard Ice Cream is the first company to establish a federal regulatory framework for real, regulated alcohol in true ice cream - a gourmet adult indulgence born from Kentucky bourbon heritage, built on proprietary food science, and now scaling into a national retail powerhouse. We didn’t stumble into this space. We created it, protected it, and proved it. And now we’re inviting you to own a piece of it.After seven years of securing regulatory approvals, developing proprietary molecular binder technology, building in-house production infrastructure, and placing product on shelves at Lowes Foods, Walmart, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Total Wine & More, and 500+ locations across five states - PROOF is at the inflection point. Distribution is accelerating. Major chain rollouts are in progress. A co-branded Luxardo partnership is launching. And the pipeline has never been stronger.This is not an early-stage bet on an idea. This is a growth-stage investment in a proven product, a protected category, and a team that has already done what everyone said couldn’t be done.From a Kentucky Kitchen to 500+ Retail Locations.Every great company starts with a moment of truth. For Jennifer Randall-Collins, that moment was a hand-crank ice cream machine in Eastern Kentucky.Jenn grew up in a culture where bourbon is woven into everything - marinades, truffles, chocolates, and yes, ice cream. For generations, Kentucky families making ice cream by hand would add a pour of bourbon or moonshine to soften the recipe. That tradition lived in Jenn’s bones. Around 2015, she began developing an early recipe for ice cream containing regulated levels of alcohol, then took it out into the world — running small taste demos in restaurants and bars across South Carolina to gauge the reaction.The response was immediate and unanimous: “Where can I buy this?” and “Can I order it?” That was the moment Jenn knew this wasn’t just a family recipe. It was a business - and a whole new category.When she brought the product to Dirk Brown, PhD, a Cornell-trained materials scientist and serial technology entrepreneur, his reaction was equally immediate: “We’re doing something together. I don’t know what exactly, but we are going to do something together.” That meeting changed everything.Dirk understood something critical that most people missed: alcohol is liquid at ice cream temperatures, which means simply mixing the two gives you a slushy milkshake, not ice cream. The science had to be solved first. Together, they developed proprietary molecular binders that suspend alcohol molecules within the ice cream matrix at the molecular level - delivering the smooth, creamy mouthfeel of a premium frozen dessert with the authentic forward heat and cocktail character of real spirits. It had never been done at scale. Now it has.Jenn’s background as a former University of South Carolina women’s basketball athlete - gritty, competitive, relentless - drove her to navigate a regulatory landscape that had no roadmap. She became the first person to work with the TTB (Tax and Trade Bureau) to establish federal rules for regulated levels of alcohol in an ice cream product sold nationally. No competitor has replicated it. The regulatory framework itself became a moat.In 2023, Jenn and Dirk leveled up the leadership team, bringing in veterans from Burger King, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Dreyer’s, and PopSockets. Most recently, Mark Brodeur (former Nestlé executive) joined as President & COO. The team has collectively raised over $500M in private capital and built and sold some of the most recognized consumer brands in the world.“Just get a spoon in their mouth. Once people taste the product, everything else becomes easier.” — Jennifer Randall-Collins, CEO & Co-Founder, PROOF Hard Ice CreamThe Category Didn’t Exist. So We Built It.The adult indulgence market has long had a gap hiding in plain sight. Consumers were spending freely on craft cocktails, premium spirits, and super-premium ice cream, but nobody had ever combined the two in a product that actually worked. Not a novelty. Not trace amounts of flavoring. A real, regulated adult experience that delivers the creamy indulgence of gourmet ice cream and the authentic heat and character of real spirits in every single scoop.The Problem: Three Barriers That Stopped Everyone Else1. The Science Was Unsolved. Alcohol is liquid at ice cream temperatures. Mix the two without the right technology and you get a slushy milkshake, not ice cream. The food science challenge alone was enough to keep every large CPG company on the sidelines.2. The Regulatory Landscape Was Uncharted. No one had ever navigated the federal and state regulatory process for selling a product with regulated levels of alcohol in a frozen food format. The TTB had no existing framework. Building one from scratch took years of legal, regulatory, and compliance work that no competitor has since replicated.3. The Distribution Model Didn’t Exist. Hard ice cream lives in a distribution no-man’s-land between two channel systems, frozen food and alcohol. Frozen food distributors don’t have alcohol licenses and Alcohol distributors don’t have freezer trucks. The complexity of alcohol regulation in a frozen format had scared away potential competitors and left the channel infrastructure unbuilt.The PROOF Solution: Proprietary and ProvenThe science is solved. PROOF’s proprietary molecular binders suspend alcohol at the molecular level within the ice cream matrix - delivering a smooth, creamy mouthfeel with the authentic forward heat of a real cocktail. No pooling. No separation. No compromise on texture or experience. This technology is protected as a trade secret with a patent portfolio pending. No competitor has replicated this at scale.The regulatory framework is built. Founder Jennifer Randall-Collins was the first person to work with the TTB to establish federal regulation for selling regulated alcohol levels in a food product nationally. PROOF holds comprehensive licensing and permits across multiple states. This regulatory infrastructure took years to build and represents a formidable barrier to entry that all competitors now face.The distribution model is operational. PROOF’s proprietary Dynamic Distribution Model™ navigates the complex alcohol retail landscape with dedicated distribution partners — PROOF Positive in California, Titanium in Wisconsin, and self-distribution in Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The same alcohol regulations that make this channel complex eliminate the standard 12–18% CPG slotting fees, giving PROOF a structural cost advantage that compounds as scale increases.The product wins on taste. At a Heritage Wine & Spirits show in Kentucky in late 2024, a four-hour tasting demo generated 40 new buyers and a $45,000+ initial order on the spot. Industry veterans from Aurora Partners and Galaxy Marketing, alumni of Gallo and Pernod Ricard, have called PROOF “the most disruptive and exciting category they’ve ever seen.”From food science to federal regulation to production to multi-state distribution - every piece of this had to be built from the ground up. PROOF and our world-class consumer brand team built all of it, under one roof.Two Multi-Billion Dollar Industries. One Emerging Category. One Brand.PROOF sits at the intersection of two of the largest consumer markets in the world. The global spirits industry commands a $640B+ total addressable market out of the >$1.7 trillion alcohol industry overall. The global ice cream market adds another $90B+. Hard Ice Cream, the category PROOF pioneered, sits squarely in the $500B+ Luxury Food & Beverage market, where both gourmet ice cream (CAGR >14%) and premium spirits (CAGR ~10%) are growing faster than any other segment in their respective industries.This is the moment investors want to catch, a proven first mover with a protected competitive position, accelerating distribution, and a category that is still in its infancy. The hard seltzer category was once a niche novelty. PROOF is Hard Ice Cream’s equivalent of White Claw before the mainstream moment arrived.Five Trends Driving the CategoryPremiumization: Consumers are trading up in both ice cream and spirits, demanding quality, craft, and storyExperiential consumption: The rise of “Instagrammable” food and drink moments - PROOF is built for exactly thisReady-to-enjoy convenience: Explosive growth in RTD cocktails signals strong consumer demand for convenient alcohol experiencesAdult indulgence: Growing appetite for “grown-up” treats that blend familiar comfort with sophisticated pleasureCategory creation: Hard Ice Cream is still nascent. PROOF is the dominant first mover, setting the standard before the category hits its mainstream tipping pointDistribution Is Accelerating Right NowThe commercial foundation is already in place - and the growth engine is firing. Here is what is happening on the ground today:Food Lion: Approved and rolling out to 400+ high-value locationsHarris Teeter: Expanding from 23 to 150+ locations, adding North CarolinaSaveMart / Lucky: Expanding from 10 to 80+ locations in CaliforniaTotal Wine & More: Active expansion across SC, FL, and CAWinn-Dixie: Expanding beyond current footprintWalmart, Lowes Foods, Festival Foods: Active retail partnersPROOF Positive: Dedicated California distribution partner with major alcohol wholesale infrastructureInternational: Initial shipments to Asia; active discussions in Europe and the CaribbeanBrand Momentum Beyond RetailPROOF is not just building distribution - it is building cultural presence. Current brand partnerships and activations include:October London - Chief Creative Officer and investorNASCAR Barrett-Cope Racing - Goodyear 400, 2026 seasonMilwaukee Brewers - 2025 season LED outfield wall signage, suite tastings, and sampling eventsCamping World Stadium (Orlando) - Florida event partnershipSummerfest 2024 - Product debut at one of America’s largest outdoor music festivalsLuxardo Co-Brand Partnership - Three co-branded flavors launching Q2, co-marketed with the iconic Italian maraschino and liqueur brandRevenue TrajectoryThe pipeline is the strongest it has ever been. Major wholesale distribution partners are signing on across multiple states. Chain rollouts that were approved six months ago are now becoming active locations. The category PROOF built is beginning to reach the consumer awareness threshold that drives exponential adoption.Your Stake in Something That Has Never Existed Before.PROOF is raising a total of $5 million to reach cash-flow positive. The near-term goal is $3 million in 2026. This is growth-stage capital going directly into the highest-leverage activities at exactly the right moment - when infrastructure is proven, distribution is expanding, and the category is on the cusp of mainstream adoption.Use of FundsSales & Distribution Expansion (~30%): Funding the ramp of retail locations from 500+ to 1,300+ active locations by Q4 2026, sales team hiring, distributor onboarding, freezer deployments, and retail activation across new states. This is the primary growth lever — more locations, more velocity, more revenue per location.Production & Logistics (~25%): Inventory production to support rapid distribution expansion, packaging procurement, and cold-chain logistics. The in-house production facility is already capable of scaling to $20M+ in annual revenue — capital here fuels the throughput to match distribution demand.General & Administrative / Working Capital (~25%): Operations infrastructure, systems, team support, and working capital to bridge to profitability. This ensures the organization can execute at the pace the market opportunity demands.Marketing & Brand Building (~15%): Digital and social media, experiential marketing, sports venue activations (NASCAR, Milwaukee Brewers), retail marketing programs, and the Luxardo co-brand launch. PROOF’s most effective marketing has always been getting product in hands — investment here drives the consumer trial that converts first-timers into brand evangelists.R&D / Product Development (~5%): New flavor development, seasonal releases (Appletini, Pumpkin Spice Old Fashioned), and co-brand formulations. Each new SKU deepens the brand’s retail footprint and gives consumers another reason to keep coming back.Why the Timing Is RightThe hardest work is done: 7+ years building patented food science, regulatory approvals, IP portfolio, production infrastructure, and distribution from scratchDistribution inflection: Alcohol wholesale distributors signing on across multiple states right nowChain rollouts: Food Lion, Harris Teeter, SaveMart, Total Wine & MoreStrong revenue growth projected for 2026, driven by major chain rollouts already in motionCo-brand validation: The Luxardo partnership validates PROOF’s platform and opens doors to additional premium spirits collaborationsCategory still in its infancy: Investing now means getting in before the “hard seltzer moment” of explosive mainstream adoptionThe Competitive MoatProprietary molecular binder technology - the only product that delivers true hard ice cream at scaleFirst-mover regulatory advantage: PROOF established the federal TTB framework for the entire categoryFederal and state alcohol licenses and permits fully in place across multiple statesProprietary in-house production facility capable of $20M+ annual revenueAlcohol regulation eliminates 12–18% standard CPG grocery slotting feesTrade secrets, patent filings, and registered trademarks protecting the full IP portfolioNon-GMO, gluten-free, all-natural - no artificial ingredientsWorld-class advisory board: alumni of Coca-Cola, Diageo, Dreyer’s, Burger King, Samsung, PepsiCo, and VenrockUniversal Women-Owned Business Certified - SC Best in Business Award, multi-year recipientLife Is Sweet. Here’s Your PROOF.Seven years ago, Jennifer Randall-Collins walked into a bar in South Carolina with a container of ice cream and a plastic spoon. The reaction she got that night - “Where can I buy this?” - set everything in motion. The intellectual property protection. The regulatory battles. The production facility. The distribution network. The world-class team. Every single piece of it started with one person who believed that two of life’s greatest pleasures deserved to be in the same bowl.Today, PROOF is in 500+ retail locations across five states. It has a Luxardo partnership launching in Q2. It has a NASCAR sponsorship, a relationship with October London, a Milwaukee Brewers partnership, and a team that has collectively raised over $500 million in private capital. It has patented technology that no competitor has replicated. It has the regulatory infrastructure that no competitor has built. And it has a product that makes people stop mid-bite and say: “This is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted.”The category we created is still in its infancy. The retail rollouts are just beginning. The wholesale distribution partnerships are just coming online. The co-brand pipeline is just opening up. The consumer awareness that turns a great brand into a household name is just now building.This is not a story about potential. This is a story about PROOF - seven years of it, stacked up in trade secrets, permits, partnerships, and pints sold. The question is whether you’re in for what comes next.“PROOF Hard Ice Cream is the most disruptive and exciting category we’ve ever seen.” — Aurora Partners & Galaxy Marketing — Industry Veterans, Gallo & Pernod Ricard AlumniWe built the category. We own the science. We have the team, the traction, and the infrastructure. Now we’re scaling — and we want investors who are as excited about what comes next as we are.

## Team
- Dirk Brown (Chairman & Co-Founder)
- Jennifer Randall-Collins (CEO & Co-Founder)
- Mark Brodeur (Head of Operations)
- Cassandra Sanchez (VP of Production)
- Christian Brown (Chairman & Co-Founder)