S03.E21: Growing Pains At Mr. Green Tea

[Tara Ariano]

Marcus returns to New Jersey to check on an ice cream company's expansion, but finds that bickering between family members is still a hard habit to break.

 

[caligirl50]

I just started watching but I wanted to ask if anyone has tried this ice cream?  I bought the green tea and chai (3 of each is the way they shipped it). The green tea is delicious.  The chai is very spicy and I wished it was creamier.  

[Primetimer]

And other not-quite-burning questions about yet another ice-cream check-in episode.

Read the story

[nobodyyoucare]

I just started watching but I wanted to ask if anyone has tried this ice cream?  I bought the green tea and chai (3 of each is the way they shipped it). The green tea is delicious.  The chai is very spicy and I wished it was creamier.  

While the pint locator shows a ton of places carry it none are within a 100 miles. Ten bucks  a pint is a bit much to have it shipped to me. The reuseable cooler may be the deal breaker. Was it a good quality one?. Despite your wish was the chai very good?

Edited February 10, 2016 by nobodyyoucare

[cyberfruit]

Glad to hear that the chai was spicy despite not being as creamy as you would like (nothing like a creamy cup of chai!). I'd love to try that one plus the fortune cookie and their new mango flavor (which would be great as a sorbet -- just throwing that out there), but I don't live in the Tri-State area.

[Josiah Bounderby]

What a boring episode. Something I've never thought about The Profit.

I was so uninterested that I tried to fashion a pitch for 16 Candles character-related flavors. A duck-flavored yogurt, perhaps, Asian, creamy, anatomical, foul. There's a joke in there somewhere.

[Amarsir]

I just started watching but I wanted to ask if anyone has tried this ice cream?  I bought the green tea and chai (3 of each is the way they shipped it). The green tea is delicious.  The chai is very spicy and I wished it was creamier.  

I get most of my groceries at ShopRite so I'll probably be walking past some Mr. Green Tea pints later today. But 1000 calories / pint is not in my current diet so I don't know.  The show makes it sound decent but not compelling IMHO.

 

I'd have liked an actual answer to why they didn't end up going with "Keyport Creamery". It was slightly implied with the discussion of the name's "tradition" but it's weird how unceremoniously it was dropped after being so important in the initial episode.  Also I chuckled when Marcus said "Most people would ask you to change the name but I'm not going to do that." Yeah, Marcus, except for when you did.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Amarsir

[nobodyyoucare]

Keyport Creamery wasn't a name change. It was an Umbrella Brand meant to have other things made by the Mr Green Tea people such as   Gelato. Mr Green Tea is Asian inspired ice creams. A line of gelato wouldn't work with the name and image of Mr Green Tea. Now Marcus may do it as a separate brand if other ice creams came out but he really wasn't changing the name for shits and giggles, it was if the company expanded into other product lines. 

[hatchetgirl]

I'm so intrigued as to how Italian Americans came up with green tea ice cream? In the 60's? I didn't see the first episode and I don't mean to be offensive, honestly but they are Italian, right? I love green tea ice cream. It's my absolute favorite. I cam see them creating the green tea flavor in the '00's, and it would an interesting story of grandpa, trying green tea ice cream and wanting to introduce it but I didn't get that. My grand father in law (Scottish American )was one of the first to fly into Hawaii with United and he and his wife loved the culture so much so she was learning the language and the hula so I see a similarity in the story.

That boy was a pain in the ass. When he said he gets offers all the time, I'm sorry, I would have said "fly be free!" What an entitled brat. I did like that his parents didn't want him to have stake in the company just because he's family. Grow the f up! Bah!

$10 a pint for less butterfat that hagen daas? That's insanity! I love my HD chocolate but an always willing to try new flavors. I would like to try the black sesame and the ginger. Goodness, Baskin Robbins cane out with a black licorice flavor ages ago and I LOVED it, but I guess others didn't. Hoe I long for that ice cream. Lol

[Buck Henry]

Michael James Emanuele only job before his parents company was the Dept. of defense for a year after College.  The reason why he wants 10 percent of the company (that is for now, I bet he wants more) is the fact the pay scale he is on is not making him enough money to live big in New Jersey.  You see it showed 75,000 and then he makes a commission if the company makes percentage increases in business.  TThe issue is that he is finding it hard (along with his father) to have that increase in business all the time if ever (Marcus is there for a reason remember, they may be stalling and even falling and not talking about it).  Two, once you take out the federal and especially those high New Jersey taxes out of his 75,000, he isn't make shit or as I said before he can look big time (remember Marcus pointing out his "used" porshe, I think he was telling the cameras something).  

 

There's a big reason why his own father and mother don't want him a 10 percent owner of the business.  One, he's an owner and he can do things as an owner without having to worry about the others.  Two, both the parents know he spends money and doesn't consult (and as I said before if he's an owner he necessarily won't have to consult when he makes a decision.  They cut out alot of shit that was in that argument in the company processing room when he was yelling at his dad saying it's a lie this and that.  Three, they don't trust Michael, they know what he's like and this company being around for over 40 years his grandfather and father did it slow and steady.  Michael thinks that Mr. Green Tea is close to ben and jerrys or the big ones and it isn't.  The father and the Grandfather who started it knew that the company major money came from local area.

 

Just to let you all know, I think that Marcus knows that there is going to be an issue with this company and the son.  So I see a future aka next season of real bad issues happening where they have to sell an even larger share to Marcus.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Green_Tea_Ice_Cream_Company#Television

[nobodyyoucare]

 

I'm so intrigued as to how Italian Americans came up with green tea ice cream? In the 60's? I didn't see the first episode and I don't mean to be offensive, honestly but they are Italian, right?

According to a new york times article, the grandfather was tired of vanilla ice cream and someone told him about all the Japanese restaurants that were popping up.   so he experimented with green tea flavors and listened to what the Japanese chefs told him to refine it. He then sold the stuff to Japanese restaurants for them to sell to customers.

[caligirl50]

While the pint locator shows a ton of places carry it none are within a 100 miles. Ten bucks  a pint is a bit much to have it shipped to me. The reuseable cooler may be the deal breaker. Was it a good quality one?. Despite your wish was the chai very good?

 

Yes, it was good.  Very good.  I just thought it would have been better with the higher milk fat.

 

Glad to hear that the chai was spicy despite not being as creamy as you would like (nothing like a creamy cup of chai!). I'd love to try that one plus the fortune cookie and their new mango flavor (which would be great as a sorbet -- just throwing that out there), but I don't live in the Tri-State area.

 

I ordered the ice cream online (I live in California).  That is why I bought so much.  Six is the minimum order.

I’m a sucker for all of Marcus’ businesses.  I also ordered from Sweet Pete’s but that was not as good as Mr. Green Tea’s product. I would not order from them again.  I thought the product was just okay, not great but I’m also not the biggest candy fan.

Edited February 11, 2016 by caligirl50

[selhars]

So that's how they got on the show…..Marcus had his eye on them from the start. Not exactly the story of he others that we've been led to believe applied to be on the show, asking Marcus to help them.

 

I may have to see if I can get through this latest Green Tea episode. I was doing something else while watching so not paying complete attention. But what I did see I was bored with. Scenes of arguing with the kid got very old, very quickly. Turned me off. I got the point the THIRD time they showed it.

 

And SOME times I feel Marcus' arrogance comes through. You never name a food with the word "black?" Blackened seafood, BLACK forest cake, BLACK truffles. I thought of those without even thinking hard. Not to mention squid ink pasta which you may see on a menu with the word "black" explaining what it is. While I do think "toasted sesame" might have sounded better, I'm not willing to right off the black sesame ice cream just because they showed a few people on TV not liking it. I don't like birthday cake or cooke dough flavors, but apparently a whole lot of people do. So a few taste-testers in Shop Rite don't sway me.

Edited February 11, 2016 by selhars

[Amarsir]

Keyport Creamery wasn't a name change. It was an Umbrella Brand meant to have other things made by the Mr Green Tea people such as   Gelato. Mr Green Tea is Asian inspired ice creams. A line of gelato wouldn't work with the name and image of Mr Green Tea. Now Marcus may do it as a separate brand if other ice creams came out but he really wasn't changing the name for shits and giggles, it was if the company expanded into other product lines. 

Yes, but that's not inconsistent with what I said. At the end of the first episode they were going to be "Mr. Green Tea by Keyport Creamery" and that latter name has completely disappeared. And now Marcus is hinting at the same issue: "Based on the name, what would you expect all of these flavors to contain?"  (Which by the way is a leading question. He's telling them to assume there's a common product.)   And he's changing the label again.

 

Which by the way, I think is dumb. He's hiding the company name down in the corner and only leaving a symbol. If you expect to be a nobody brand and get picked off the shelf based purely on the flavor, fine. But how are you going to be memorable or discussion-worthy?

 

"Hey honey, what wast the brand of that ice cream you liked?"

"Oh I don't know, the one with the leaf symbol on it."

 

What is this, Prince Ice Cream? I understand his issue, but you need a brand name.  But what do I know. As Marcus would say, I'm not a branding expert.

[attica]

$10 a pint for less butterfat

 

For what it's worth, the shelf tagging in the Shop-Rite footage read $3.99 per unit. Which is comparable to HD and B&J where I live, anyway.

 

If I were Marcus, I wouldn't give Michael any equity, just on the basis of I super-super-super hate the sound of that kid's voice. OMG, fingers on a chalkboard would be blessed relief in comparison! That high-pitched whine deep-dipped in NY Italianese? [shudder] And does he ever not wear that grey sweater?  On the other hand, I do think the dad is kind of a dick.

 

Something in the footage at the burrito place seemed off to me. In fact, I started thinking that the clip of the bearded proprietor dude saying "no, only vanilla!" may have been shot later, just to give them something to splice in earlier to create dramatic tension. Because spicy mango flavored ice cream in a burrito place? Which even bearded dude said he liked? No brainer. And coming in with tubs of the stuff with no intention of foisting it on the patrons? Unlikely.

 

That yogurt place is the same place that did those Chase commercials with Marcus last year ("Peachy!"). Is there already a business relationship between them, making a MGT tie in easier to do? Cynical minds want to know.

[pbutler111]

I tried their green tea ice cream a long time ago, well before The Profit came on the scene, and I thought it was okay, but I didn't buy more. The problems the company was experiencing is so very typical of family businesses. The special challenge these businesses face is that each person has to be two separate people: a family member, and an employee/owner. It's incredibly difficult to keep family roles out of the business decisions, and to keep the business challenges out of the family interactions. Those who manage the paradox successfully carry on for generations, both family and business. Those that can't, often implode on both fronts. P.S. I think there should be a special place in hell for mothers who dress their identical twins identically.

[Jack Sampson]

No way I'd give that entitled brat an equity stake. Despite what they tried to show through bad editing. That kid can't sell, he obviously wastes money (wanting to buy new machines) and he has such an abrasive personality that no employee will ever respect him. Plus, he's so hyper and has so many physical ticks that he's either manic or on drugs. Neither end well for a company. Kids like that are the reason family businesses don't survive past the second generation.

If Marcus was so hot on the idea, I'd tell him to give the kid as much of his share as he wanted.

[eddy]

Who in the hell spends $70,000 to produce a run of ice cream that has not been tested on a focus group?

 

The parents should have let the son go take a job where he can use his engineering degree to build highway bridges without first testing a model.

[mojito]

 

According to a new york times article, the grandfather was tired of vanilla ice cream and someone told him about all the Japanese restaurants that were popping up.   so he experimented with green tea flavors and listened to what the Japanese chefs told him to refine it. He then sold the stuff to Japanese restaurants for them to sell to customers.

That story sounds familiar. I think this was discussed in the original episode.

 

People bolt out of the door at 5:00 sharp? Hey, Junior, what percentage of them are hourly workers? I'm betting over 90%. There's a difference between salaried and hourly, and you should know that by now.

 

Junior delivered the pitch to 16 Handles; Marcus closed the deal. Big difference.

[Amarsir]

Who in the hell spends $70,000 to produce a run of ice cream that has not been tested on a focus group?

I got a strong sense of spin when Marcus was laying that out. To my recollection they spent $300,000 on a slotting fee for shelf space. They then divided that over 6 flavors. Marcus then divided that and concluded that they spent $50,000 on this flavor. (Plus $20k of development.)

Well not necessarily. If the fee was set and they have enough space to avoid running out of stock on the other 5, slotting the black sesame was free. There's no indication they could have gotten in for $240k on only 5 flavors. Plus the slot is still theirs if they want to put mango there now or whatever. So if they thought the Black Sesame might be their 6th flavor, it didn't cost them any slotting fee to try it.

Don't get me wrong - it's crazy not to have consumer tested it. Although I have no problem with "black" in the name, sesame isn't a flavor I'm anxious to try and the gray looked unappealing. But I also think Marcus was making it seem worse than it really was.

[cyberfruit]

So, Mr. Green Tea has made it up to Massachusetts and is now being sold in my local Stop and Shop for $4.49. I bought the chai latte and have to agree that the ice cream could be creamier, but I love how it's loaded with spices. My local store only had chai latte, ginger, and vanilla for sale. I really would like to get my hands on the fortune cookie flavor, so hopefully it'll be in my store in the next few months. 

[attica]

I found it at my local supermarket (suburban NYC). Most of the flavors were in the case, including the (?) terrifying Black Sesame. I bought the green tea flavor, and I'm a little underwhelmed.  The texture is good, but the green tea flavor is really only in aftertaste rather than taste. Mostly, it tastes like unsweetened cream. I like a not-too-sweet ice cream, but this takes subtlety a leaf too far, imo. I'm still curious about the other flavors, though.

[Whimsy]

So, Mr. Green Tea has made it up to Massachusetts and is now being sold in my local Stop and Shop for $4.49. I bought the chai latte and have to agree that the ice cream could be creamier, but I love how it's loaded with spices. My local store only had chai latte, ginger, and vanilla for sale. I really would like to get my hands on the fortune cookie flavor, so hopefully it'll be in my store in the next few months. 

Oh, really?  Now I have to go check my local Stop and Shop. I'm in Central Mass.  Is that where you are?

[cyberfruit]

Oh, really?  Now I have to go check my local Stop and Shop. I'm in Central Mass.  Is that where you are?

 

Nope, I'm in Boston.

 

Black Sesame and red bean have also popped up at my store.

[Thrifty]

I saw some of this in a supermarket when I was living in Virginia briefly last year, but I couldn't bring myself to buy it.  The flavors all looked gross.  It doesn't help that I despise tea.