About BLANCO

BLANCO is located in Yamato Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, surrounded by the natural beauty of Aso.
We use local ingredients and handle everything ourselves, from sourcing raw materials to manufacturing and shipping.
What we value most is truly engaging with our ingredients and ensuring the creators are visible.
We also value noticing and embracing the small joys in everyday life.
Working with the community and its people, we infuse ice cream with the richness found right in our local area.

Local

Use local ingredients

We use ingredients unique to the region, such as milk nurtured by Aso's nature, vegetables and fruits grown by local farmers, and our own home-grown herbs and honey.

Harvest

To make the most of the ingredients

We carefully select out-of-spec vegetables that are difficult to ship, as well as ripe fruits, as delicious ingredients, and transform each of these blessings into ice cream.

Natural

Not relying on sugar or additives

We keep sugar to a minimum and do not use preservatives, artificial flavors, thickeners, or stabilizers, valuing the natural taste of the ingredients.

Fresh

To deliver the freshly made deliciousness

Leveraging the advantage of producing near where the ingredients are grown, we do not mass-produce, and by refining our manufacturing processes, we deliver products as fresh as possible, as quickly as possible.

Kindness

Something for everyone

We aim to create ice cream that is gentle on both body and mind, and that people of all ages, from children to the elderly, can enjoy with peace of mind, regardless of their generation or background.

Why We Choose This Method

At BLANCO, we aim to deliver the inherent flavor of our ingredients in the most natural way possible.

That's why we've chosen to minimize sugar and avoid additives.
This method is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and results in a product that melts easily.

Nevertheless, we want to deliver ice cream that is kind to both the ingredients and the consumer.
Even if it means taking the long way around, making gentle choices is at the heart of BLANCO's craftsmanship.

Commitment and Innovations in Our Manufacturing Process

Once the ice cream is made, experienced staff quickly hand-fill each cup, one by one. To maintain its smooth texture, the freshly made ice cream is gently handled, without mixing or crushing, and touched as little as possible.

Ice cream poured into cups is immediately flash-frozen in a -30°C shock freezer. This rapid cooling prevents large ice crystals from forming if the ice cream melts and refreezes, ensuring a smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture and preserving its freshly made deliciousness.

To ensure our ice cream is delivered fresh, we manage our inventory with a turnover of approximately one week. By intentionally keeping our stock freezer small and strictly adhering to a first-in, first-out system, we are able to deliver ice cream that is as fresh as possible.

We ship small quantities quickly. We use insulated packaging boxes and frozen sheets that can maintain -18℃ for extended periods. After packing, we bring the packages to the shipping company's office, which is about a minute's drive from our studio, and ship them as quickly as possible to deliver the delicious taste as if it were freshly made.

About Flavor Development

BLANCO's flavors are born from encounters with ingredients and conversations with people.

We develop each recipe by incorporating local ingredients we discover, such as milk from Aso, regional vegetables and fruits, herbs and honey we cultivate ourselves, and sometimes even watermelons grown by high school students studying agriculture in Yamato Town.
In the development process, we seek feedback not only from chefs and producers but also from those close to us, including children and the elderly.

A flavor that naturally makes you want to "eat it again." A taste that brings someone's face to mind.
Through repeated encounters with such ingredients and people, BLANCO's flavors are born.

Meaning and Design of BLANCO

BLANCO means "white" in Spanish.

The white of the milk, produced in the magnificent Aso region, is enhanced by the colors of vegetables and fruits from Yamato-cho.
We chose this name because diverse elements combine to create a variety of expressions.

Manufacturing takes place in Yamato-cho, and we collaborate with artists and chefs from Japan and abroad on design and recipe development.
We value the creation of new expressions and experiences through the convergence of different sensibilities and perspectives.

The name BLANCO embodies the potential to become any color, and the intention to adorn it with the power of people and the land.

Message

I started BLANCO out of a passion for Yamato Town, my hometown.

One day, I saw a trend in Yamato Town's population and realized that this town I loved wouldn't just continue on its own. I wondered what I could do. I considered if there was a way to contribute to the community while utilizing my past experiences.

Around that time, my older brother, who was working at a café in Tokyo, told me about a scene he saw at an ice cream shop overseas. People gathered there because of the ice cream, conversations bloomed, and the town became vibrant. "Ice cream might have an unseen power," he said. As my brother and I talked, I became strongly drawn to that possibility.

Yamato Town has an abundance of ingredients, including seasonal vegetables and fruits. One reason I chose ice cream was that it allowed me to leverage these charms. Because the workshop and fields are close, fruits that are often harvested a little early for distribution can be used when they are perfectly ripe on the tree. Even vegetables that are difficult to ship due to their irregular size can be utilized as delicious ingredients in ice cream. I wanted to create something unique to this region, facing the community in this way.

I originally worked as an occupational therapist. During that time, I often saw ice cream bringing joy and support to people. For one terminally ill cancer patient, it was one of the few pleasures they could taste in their final days. For another person with a developmental disability, making and serving ice cream together at an event brought smiles and words of gratitude, and their dream became to be an "ice cream maker."

I feel that ice cream is not just a dessert, but something that gently bridges the gap between people, regardless of age or background. I continue to make ice cream with the hope that such moments will gradually increase in our daily lives.

BLANCO's Vision for the Future

BLANCO is an ice cream brand located in Yamato Town.
However, what we want to create is not just ice cream, but the scenery beyond it.
We want to create new value for the region, gather people, and increase places where everyone can get involved in manufacturing and nature.
We want to be a presence that creates a gentle cycle in everyday life.
We may not be able to do big things, but we believe there is meaning in valuing what is in front of us and continuing to do it.
Our hope is that BLANCO's existence will be a catalyst for the intersection of the region and its people, gently coloring everyday life.
That is our wish.