It may only be February, but Nottingham entrepreneur Isaac Tambini, is helping bring a taste of summer to the people of Nottinghamshire and beyond to help ease winter lockdown blues.
A take on the 80’s childhood classic ice pop, the Pola Ice Pole movement was born after Isaac’s graduation from Queen Mary University London in 2018 when he recognised there was a gap in the UK Ice Cream and Lolly Market for a healthy alternative which uses local British produce.
He said: “After I graduated I knew I didn’t want an everyday office job and I have always been interested in food and having my own business, so it made sense to start my own.”
Tambini’s frozen desserts pride themselves on being ‘quintessentially British’ and uses ingredients sourced locally from a range of locations such as Nottingham farm Starkey’s to his own mother’s back garden where she grows roses.
The low calorie natural ice treat has flavours for all palettes including strawberries and cream gelato, rose and lemon, raspberry and lime, elderflower, Alphonso mango gelato, coffee gelato and strawberry and lemon.
What started as a local venture has since turned into a nation-wide obsession with products being stocked as far as 100 miles away in London.
“I got interest from local cafes in Nottingham and began stocking in these but eventually I got stocked in several health food shops and supermarkets in London.”
“It all happened pretty quickly but I think the main thing that helped bring everything to life was putting myself and my product out there.”
ISAAC TAMBiNI, 24
Currently, Isaac and his Great Food Taste award winning business have teamed up with the Food Innovation Centre under the Driving Research and Innovation project which will last until the end of January 2023.
Alongside the scientists at the University of Nottingham Food Science Department, Isaac has worked to develop his latest ‘Freeze at Home’ which allows the business to reach customers across the UK.
He adds: “Customers are posted out unfrozen Sorbet Poles who, upon receiving them, can simply shake, freeze and enjoy them at their convenience.”
Undoubtedly, no business has been left untouched by Covid-19 but Tambini reveals him and his team were able to adapt quickly as they focused their efforts on delivering their healthy ice poles across Nottingham city via bike last summer.
He says: “I think the standout difficulty has been being honest with myself that many of the things I had planned for the year weren’t going to happen and that I had to be realistic and come to terms with the fact things were generally going to be slower for the year.”
As the strict national lockdown is set to last for at least another month, Isaac is hopeful that his sorbet poles are the ‘perfect antidote’ for putting a smile on people’s faces.
For more information, check out Pola on Instagram @polaicepoles and order yours at www.polapoles.co.uk
