General News
26 September, 2020
Ice Cream is nice.
Brothers Aaron and Jack Gallagher are third-generation banana farmers who have now launched their very own unique Nice-Cream range.
Brothers Aaron and Jack Gallagher are third-generation banana farmers who have now launched their very own unique Nice-Cream range.
Aaron and Jack's grandfather bought the Wadda Plantation near Nerada in 1972 and as a family, they have been growing and supplying bananas for nearly 40 years.
Aaron said that one problem he had with the industry was the amount of food that went to waste.
“Some of our bananas do not make it to the supermarket, because some are too bendy, too straight, too large or too small,” he said
“There is nothing wrong with the quality of the fruit it’s just an aesthetic problem and the big supermarkets won’t take them.”
It got him to thinking how could they utilise all of their produce without letting it go to waste.
Growing up on the farm Aaron and Jacks' mum used to make everything out of bananas including banana muffins, pancakes, smoothies, even banana daiquiris.
But Aaron said their favourite was her banana Nice-Cream, “The reason it’s called Nice-Cream is that technically it’s not iced cream, in fact, there is no dairy in our Nice-Cream,” he said.
“It was her Nice-Cream or it was nothing because she would never buy us ice cream.”
Nice-Cream is a sugar-free, dairy-free dessert made by blitzing pieces of frozen fruit made from their out-of-spec bananas.
“Our products stem from a desire to produce a product that embraces all our bananas, regardless of how they look,” Aaron said.
“Our Nice-Cream was conceptualised and created by my brother Jack, who loves to be creative and resourceful with the produce we grow.”
Three months ago the brothers launched the ‘The Banana Story Co’ Nice-Cream in chocolate, cinnamon, peanut butter, coconut and banana and vanilla flavours.
“We now have our products in about 20 different outlets throughout North Queensland all the way from Proserpine to the Tablelands and into Cairns,”
“We launched right in the middle of COVID and we have just come out of winter but the feedback has been amazing so we are very optimistic coming into summer.”
The brothers have also just planted vanilla and cocoa on the family farm. “Eventually we would like to have as much as possible grown here on our own farm that we can use in our Nice-Cream,” Aaron said.
“We value health and wellbeing and supplying fresh food.”
