2025 Fast & Serious Winners: No. 21 Handel's Ice Cream

Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream experienced consistent growth in sales and units over the last few years, and CEO Jennifer Schuler is bullish on continuing that trend. Systemwide sales increased 78.3 percent, from $59 million in 2021 to $106 million in 2023, while the unit count rose from 75 to 124. Schuler said the brand is well on its way to reaching and surpassing 150 locations, and is doing so by finding the intersection between peoples’ personal growth objectives and business objectives. “There’s no shortage of good things you can do to grow a business,” Schuler said. “But the times where you can create that intersection, and you’re able to meet your team and see a sense of passion and bring those things together, growth becomes easier, smoother and faster. I think that makes our growth sustainable, and that applies to our internal team and our franchisees.” Private equity firm ClearLight Partners acquired Handel’s in 2019. As the brand continues to develop, Schuler said it comes with the challenge of maintaining quality over a larger quantity of stores. “We’re working through what it means to be a national, iconic brand,” Schuler said. “We’re operating in 16 different states, versus just a brand that is the centerpiece of your local community.” A balanced must be struck, she said, between national brand standards and local customization. “We’re always defining what needs to be a localbased decision by ownership,” Schuler said, “with what will be national standard.”