We are living in a golden age of ice cream, people — and apparently the VC world agrees, because the startup behind the Museum of Ice Cream just raised $40m.
According to the WSJ, Figure8 was valued at $200m as investors believe that the frozen dessert palace can build further into branded food, products, and, potentially, other themes.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ — Said EVERYONE ever
In 2016, the museum’s chief executive, Maryellis Bunn, and her co-founder Manish Vora launched the museum’s first temporary location in New York’s Meatpacking District.
The Willy Wonka-esque exhibit, which allows cream lovers to bathe in a bath of sprinkles, quickly blew up on Instagram — stars like Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and Kim Kardashian all paid a visit.
Soon after, the business launched pop-up exhibits in Los Angeles and Miami, as well as a permanent location in San Francisco, which more than 1.5m people have visited, according to the company.
Whatchyu gon’ do with all that cash?
Apart from the museum experiences, the MOIC has launched a line of branded ice cream, and worked on commission products such as a clothing line and cosmetics.
The founders said the funding will help the company form additional partnerships, produce more ice cream and open new permanent museum locations in regions like Asia. Figure8 also reportedly pitched investors about using the cash to build a theme park.
When asked why she likes ice cream so much, Bunn said, “Everyone has a connection to ice cream. It doesn’t see gender, it doesn’t see religion.”