Start-ups

PauPau

Dresden

Exotic ice cream creations from Dresden.

If Europeans think of tasty ice cream they mostly have the Italian classics in mind. One or two scoops in a cone and happiness is guaranteed for big and small ice cream lovers. However, ice cream is often prepared by factories and you rarely find home-made ice cream. Most of the time you get the typical flavours like chocolate, vanilla or strawberry. This won’t be the norm anymore! Thanks to Mexican Armando Reyes Prado and his Spanish wife Vanessa, who live in Dresden and have a special concept that differs from the classical ice cream offer. Inspired by the typical fruity Mexican ice cream they pep up the ice cream business of Dresden. The new and refreshing delight is called PauPau. In their own ice cream manufactory, the young couple is producing ice cream made from natural ingredients and surprises since 2012 with exotic and interesting combinations. In our interview they explained us from where they take their inspiration for their crazy ice cream combinations.

Nearly all ingredients are bought fresh

How did you come up with the idea of producing ice cream on your own?

Vanessa: We were visiting Armandos family in Mexico and it was the first time that I tried typical Mexican ice cream. My first reaction was: WOW! The fresh fruit and natural ingredients have been exciting. Especially because it is so rare in Europe that you get such a natural ice cream. It often contains preservatives and artificial colouring. Armando was often working in restaurants and cafés in the past. Since a long time he had the wish to open up his own café in Germany. The Mexican ice cream delivered us the defining idea.

Who taught you how to produce ice cream?

Vanessa: There is a lady in Yucatan, owning an ice cream manufactory near the beach. Armando definitely wanted to get taught by her. She showed us how to produce ice cream traditionally. In Mexico they use a big wooden bucket filled with crushed ice. There is a small stainless container in the middle of the bucket which can be filled with the fresh ingredients. By constant movement you get the creamy ice cream. You do not need anything else in Mexico. Of course we do use modern machines in our manufactory, but nevertheless we still try to keep it real and traditional. Altogether we produce 400 cartons of ice cream per day.

Every flavor is devoloped into detail

What exactly means PauPau?

Armando: It is the only tropical tree which is able to survive temperatures of minus 20 degrees. You could almost plant it in Germany. We have been thinking about our brands´ name for a long time. It took us more than half a year to create our concept, our philosophy and the logo. PauPau exactly mirrors what we are. Two tropical plants who started rooting in Germany.

Which sorts of ice cream do you offer?

Armando: Altogether we offer ten different sorts of ice cream. We change our range three times a year. Right now we offer a lot of summery flavours and prepare ice cream with acai and banana for example. Acai is a fruit from Brazil. What is brand new too is a sorbet made of cucumber and lemon. One of the most popular sorts of our ice creams is semolina-cinnamon. Some customers say that it evokes the feeling of childhood. In our manufactory we do only use natural ingredients. Our philosophy is that our ice cream is as natural as possible. We try to use not too much sugar. We want that our guest instantly notice what is inside. We want a pure and natural taste.

Armando and Vanessa Reyes with a colleague — With roots in Dresden: The colorful team from PauPau.

The recipe book for the creations — The secret recipe book for the many creations.

scoop of ice cream — Tastes perfect, handmade and natural!

Why did you move to Dresden?

Vanessa: I came from Spain to work for the Spanish embassy and the consulate in Dresden. Nowadays I am lecturer at the university of Dresden teaching Romance studies and studies of Latin America. I love Spain and my family but in Dresden I feel at home. It is a beautiful city. Still we enjoy to work together with an international team. Our employee Edi is Brazilian and a refugee works in our manufactory too. The team is always an inspiration for us. The good thing at PauPau is that you always learn something new from the different cultures and that the languages mix. German, English and sometimes even Spanish. The colourful mixture is not only what we are, it is also what our ice cream is about.

From where do you take your inspiration?

Vanessa: Most of the time spontaneously when we are around with our friends and employees. We did not know and never tried the combination of semolina and cinnamon before. While we have been eating together with our German friends it was the first time that we tried it and fell in love with it. So we decided to make ice cream of it. Another inspiration was taken by the breakfast of our Brazilian employee Edi who traditionally eats Acai together with Banana in his muesli. Now it is one of our ice creams. It is also always important for us to use Latin American fruits and products.

Native to Dresden: Vanessa and her ice cream.

„In Dresden I feel at home. It is a beautiful city.”

Vanessa Reyes

Which ice cream combinations will follow?

Vanessa: We are planning to produce even healthier ice cream with so called “super-food” like chia seeds or goji berries. But there is also an ice cream in our minds that contains avocado.

Where do you sell your ice cream?

Armando: We supply different cafés, restaurants and small shops in Dresden and the region. There are also some customers from Görlitz and Berlin, who sell PauPau. In Leipzig there is a shop which is interested in our ice cream as well. And what is best: In October our dream come true and we open our own shop at the Schießhaus 12 in Dresden!

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