The Zimmermanns were fans of Royal Scoop Ice Cream before they even bought the business. “We loved ice cream. We actually went to that store all the time,” says David Zimmermann. “I said to my wife (Sarah), ‘This is the type of place we should buy.’”

At the time, another husband-and-wife team owned the Bonita shop. The Zimmermanns approached them about a deal—and as it turned out, the couple was struggling to pay rent on their shop. They jumped on the opportunity to sell.

That was in 1994. Now, Royal Scoop is arguably the most recognizable ice cream brand in Southwest Florida: There are five locations and a manufacturing facility that produces ice cream for vendors across the southern part of the state.

The Zimmermanns have proven to be an effective team in building their business. He had a background in accounting, and she had a background in marketing. Aside from the original Bonita Springs location, the other stores are independently operated through a licensing agreement with each owner.

Part of the brand’s success is finding ways to get ingrained in the community, whether that’s donating ice cream for nonprofit events or hosting family activities, such as its Easter egg hunt that ended in 2019 after 25 years. “It’s just been great being involved in the area as it grows and prospers,” Zimmermann says.

But what’s made Royal Scoop truly thrive is the quality of its product, he said. The ice cream has been recognized in nationwide competitions; Death by Peanut Butter won best new flavor from the National Ice Cream Retailers Association in 2012. Experimentation is key—who knew that a Thanksgiving-themed sweet potato ice cream would be a hit? But some of its best flavors are crowdsourced. The winner of its annual flavor creation contest gets free ice cream for a year and the chance to have their original concoction featured in all its stores. The popular Bonita Beach Bum (coconut ice cream with a caramel swirl, dark chocolate chunks and almonds) has been a mainstay since it won in 2015, for example.

The couple has modest expansion goals—they’re always scouting new locations and hoping to improve their production process. But, as David says, their overall plan is pretty simple: “We’ll just keep making good ice cream.”