KIVA Iowa Profile: Organic dairy the star at SCREAM Ice Cream Shop

Ready to scream for organic ice cream? In 2022, Kate Vigmostad, owner, and her fiance Mattie Kennedy, part owner, began delivering homemade ice cream to Des Moines, Decorah, and held booths at Farmers Markets and other events with a scoop cart.

Based on the success, they opened SCREAM Ice Cream Shop at 1401 South Main in Fairfield in January of this year. Their flavorful organic pints are already waking up taste buds in the Corridor, with the product distributed at New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids, and in Iowa City’s Bread Garden Market.

“Dairy is really the star of the show,” said owner Kate Vigmostad, 40, who says she has always had an entrepreneurial bent. “We obtain our milk from Radiance Dairy, which provides real certified organic dairy, from grass-fed cows living a happy life. It’s super yummy, plus sweet and creamy.” The dairy is non-homogenized — old school style with cream at the top. Their staff of 10 then uses an ice cream pasteurization process. They are passionate about sourcing the best possible ingredients.

Vigmostad started the business after purchasing a Cuisinart ice cream maker to bond more with her son, so they started making ice cream together. She credits her arts background (fine art undergrad and M.A. in Dance from the UI), she quickly had an idea for the logo and Gothic infused branding, starting SCREAM on Instagram, where people ordered in messaging and she delivered to customers. They now also work with two food hubs, Iowa Food Hub in Decorah, and Camp Creek in Kalona as well.

“We offer scoops, smoothies, sundaes, milkshakes, banana splits and frozen nachos made from homemade waffle cone chips and hot fudge poured on it. We make our own vanilla waffle cones,” Kate said.

  Buy Photo

Fun ice cream flavors include “lik-her-ish” for licorice flavor and “dark side of the spoon” for dark chocolate.

“We make several seasonal and limited-edition flavors, with 10 flavors in retail pints, and offer all our flavors at our shop. Popular year-round flavors include Honey Lavender, Coco Loco (with cayenne and cinnamon), cheesecake flavors (with cherry, raspberry, blueberry, or pear ribbons), and Nutty Professor (chocolate base with peanut butter ribbon and brownie). This summer ourmango ice cream is popular, plus Barbie’s Dream Cone (raspberry with strawberry rhubarb ribbon),” Kate said.

In 2024, SCREAM received a large grant of $100,000 from the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance to build a kitchen. The couple purchased a 20-qt. Italian batch freezer, three compartment sink, a big fridge and freezer, storage units, and a blast freezer that cools to -30 degrees.

Mattie Kennedy, 34, an electrician by trade, built the entire kitchen, installing the plumbing, electrical, countertop, and benches. He had the kitchen up and running in three months.

Vigmostad’s son Will, a 9-year old, sometimes helps as a cashier because he’s good at math.

“The way we make ice cream is truly unique,” said Vigmostad. “Most shops buy a premade mix and use synthetic flavorings. All ours is real food, with no synthetic colors or flavorings.”

“Since Fairfield is a small town, there are few places where you can bring the family,” she said. “Our shop is a gathering place. Our focus is on our retail store and serving the Fairfield community as a hub for all generations — from 5 to 90 — who love ice cream. It’s the staple for everyone in the world!”

It’s also worth the drive to one of the stores carrying it, for world class flavor the old-fashioned way.

Vigmostad received a $10,000 KIVA loan in 2024 for a freezer truck to widen distribution. Kiva is a zero cost, zero fee loan of up to $15,000, repayable to lenders within three years. SCREAM had 172 lenders for the loan. For more details on the KIVA program, visit newbo.co/kiva.