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Meet Cam Crawford of Repicci’s Italian Ice & Gelato in Alpharetta

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Cam Crawford.

Repicci’s Italian Ice & Gelato’s roots are as authentically Italian as their Italian ice and gelato. When Dominic Francesco Repicci immigrated from Messina, Italy to America in 1911, he brought his family’s Old World recipe for Italian ice. At first, Dominic shared his family’s delicious Italian treat with friends and neighbors in South Philadelphia. It wasn’t long before Dominic found himself busy producing his family’s unique product to meet an overwhelming demand.

Dominic’s grandson, Frank, continues his grandfather’s passion for offering quality Italian treats. Frank opened a manufacturing plant in Tennessee in 1998, which initially supplied concessions for the Chattanooga parks and recreation facilities. After forming a partnership with Cam, the popularity of Repicci’s Italian Ice grew rapidly throughout the Southeastern United States. Franchising began in 2005, starting out as seasonal tents that would pop up at spring and summertime events. These trailblazers continued to gain loyal fans for Repicci’s one-of-a-kind products, and in 2014 it was decided to include mobile trailers in their franchising model.

They have more than 50 franchises nationwide, where Repicci’s products are enjoyed by millions of people in thousands of locations. The future lies in taking their product to customers where they are, rather than waiting the customers to come to them. They now offer new franchisees the opportunity to own a business, selling delicious Real Italian Ice, Gelato, Italian-Roasted Coffee and Hot Chocolate at events of all kind. From fairs and festivals to sporting events, rodeos, reunions and even weddings, a Repicci’s Italian Ice & Gelato food truck is suited for any occasion or event.

Has it been a smooth road?
Like any small business, growth costs money. In the beginning, we just wanted to get the product manufactured at a good price and high quality to best serve our customers. With rising manufacturing costs over time, keeping prices consumer-friendly without bankrupting the company was a major challenge. We certainly learned a lot of what not to do along the way, but one thing we never lost sight of, was the customer. We’ve always done right by people. Our business is built on repeat customers and relationship is everything to us.

Bringing manufacturing in-house, scaling the franchising business model, and perfecting the Repicci mobile food trucks have been some of our biggest challenges, but they also have represented our biggest opportunities.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Repicci’s Italian Ice & Gelato story. Tell us more about the business.
Repicci’s is a super-premium Italian ice and gelato manufacturer that sells product through high-end mobile food trucks. We have a franchise distribution model, and are known for being the best in town – from ingredients, to taste, to the professionalism of our truck and staff, to the overall experience itself.

We are most proud of how successful our mobile food truck franchisees are. There are very few businesses you can start and be profitable your first year. Our business model makes that possible for franchisees. We don’t just sit in an ivory tower dictating orders to our franchisees. They are partners with us. We are in the food trucks ourselves serving the Italian ice and gelato exact to specifications. You wouldn’t think how you scoop makes a difference, but it has a major effect on the overall product! This isn’t a Mickey Mouse production. We have formal manufacturing facilities and take great pride in setting the highest standards in food quality production.

Repicci’s is also fortunate to be in key locations, such as Rupp Arena (home of the Kentucky Wildcats), World Congress Center, Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the former Georgia Dome.

Our product integrity, professionalism (be where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there), consistency, and commitment to excellence sets us apart from everyone else. When an event, wedding, corporation, fairs, festivals, and NASCAR races want to reward or supply their customers with food truck options, we are the first ones they call because they know the level of excellence they’re going to get. Our job is making them look good!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The food truck boom has taken America by storm. Being served directly by the chef is one of the hottest trends in the food business. One of the major trends that has supported our growth, and that of the industry, is the increase in corporate and event catering.

Companies love bringing a food truck to the office to show just how much they value and appreciate their staff. Weddings love having something fun and unique for guests at their wedding. Fairs and festivals love having a broad array of high quality, delicious food at their events. The mobile food truck industry is here to stay and growing at a rapid, double-digit rate per year.

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