PROFILBARU.COM

Palapa Azul is a frozen desserts company based in Los Angeles, California. The company, founded in 2002 by Mexico City natives Michel Algazi and Roni Goldberg, produces Mexican-style ice cream, sorbet, and frozen fruit bars that are sold in retail stores throughout the United States. Palapa Azul is also a member of NASFT (National Association of the Specialty Food Trade).^[1]

The Mexican emphasis results in marketing flavors that are not commonly found in mainstream American frozen desserts, such as sweet corn^[2] ice cream and hibiscus flower (Jamaica) sorbet, as well as Mexican versions of common flavors, such as cajeta, a Mexican goat milk-based caramel^[3] — often used for dulce de leche — and Mexican chocolate,^[3] which is spiced with cinnamon. The frozen fruit bars, which in 2004 were the first products launched by the company, include cucumber-chile and mango-chile mixtures along with single-flavor bars in Mexican papaya, strawberry, mango, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapefruit and pineapple. The company's founders have said that during their initial one-on-one product research in California farmer's markets, they found gender-based differences in flavor preferences: "Women would say, 'You have mango-chile? Interesting! I'd like to try that.' Men would say, 'You have mango-chile. Interesting! I'd like strawberry.' ... We could offer two dozen flavors, and still most men would want strawberry."^[4] Tested flavors that have not been introduced to date include prickly pear, plum and kiwi.^[4]

The fruit bars were introduced at the Winter International Fancy Food Show, a trade show for the foodservice industry, in January 2004, where the product was named "Best of Show" by several top retailers and media outlets.^[5] The ice cream and sorbet products were introduced in June 2005.^[3]