How $23 ice cream became LAs latest hypebeast obsession

This ice cream often sells out in minutes, in limited drops every week — just like the exclusive streetwear merchandise at Supreme. I visited Henry’s Secret Ice Cream in West Hollywood on drop day: Wednesday at 12 p.m.About 1,000 pints of Chef Brad’s mint chip and mocha almond ripple were purchased for $21–22 each, within five minutes. Each week, Henry’s sells around 2,000 pints of ice cream, priced between $18–23. And while it’s expensive for ice cream, it’s cheap compared to the typical product coveted by hypebeasts. In Los Angeles, a market saturated with independent artisanal frozen dessert brands, Henry’s Secret Ice Cream has managed to cut through the noise with its premium fresh ingredients, Chef Bradley Ray’s fine dining culinary background and its rollout strategy inspired by hypebeast culture. “When I wrote Brad the strategy for the business, it was like, ‘We should be the Supreme of ice cream, right?’” Henry’s Secret Ice Cream Co-Owner Lawrence Longo said.

“So with a brand-new brand, you want to build the audience first, and then you can open up a store when you have the demand, and we didn’t think it was going to happen this fast at this rate.”The goal is to open brick-and-mortar stores where anyone can get ice cream whenever they want. But, for now, the team is small, everything is done by hand and Instagram comments are filled with people lamenting they weren’t able to nab a pint in time. With all the hype and the steep price, expectations are running high when it comes to quality. And Henry’s Secret Ice Cream delivers. I tried seven different flavors, and while I personally wouldn’t pay about $20 for every single one of them, a few really blew me away.After all, everyone’s palate is different. I ate half a pint of the orange vanilla fro-yo with summer berries in one sitting; it’s tart and creamy with bursts of tangy flavor from the orange zest and berry swirl.

(Chef Brad, if you’re reading th...