The slogan of Laly Protzel’s Rumba Desserts is “The Rhythm of Flavors,” and you can feel that rhythm in her enthusiasm and passion for creating exotic ice creams and sorbets.
Born and raised in Peru, South America Laly’s family lived near the Pacific Ocean, and some of her fondest childhood memories were of going to an uncle’s ice cream café after a long day at the beach. “Coffee and ice cream go together throughout most of South America,” she explains.
University studies brought Laly to the United States where she obtained a degree in interior architectural design and worked in the field of commercial design for ten years. She loved the creativity, and seeing her designs completed gave her a great sense of accomplishment. But in 2007 she was ready to leave her career and exercise her entrepreneurial spirit by starting her own business.
“We had visited Peru before, but that year my 9-year-old son and I stayed for two months. I wanted to teach him about my native culture and the foods I grew up with, and I was interested to find things that he liked. I told him about having ice cream after a day on the beach when I was little.”
While they were in Lima, out of simple curiosity, Laly went to see a friend’s ice cream manufacturer. When she got back, she was full of energy to research this as a business. With a home ice cream maker she began to experiment with the South American flavors she remembered from her childhood.
She committed herself to learning and to educating the North American market about the high nutritional value and exotic flavors of the foods from her native Peru. After extensive research she decided to introduce to the American market the most exotic and delicious of them: “Lucuma Ice Cream,” followed by Maracuya (yellow passion fruit), Cherimoya and other indigenous fruits. While Rumba Desserts are a California-made product, all the fruit used to make it come from Peru, so it is totally authentic.
Laly is a strong advocate of 100% natural products and sustainable business. She wants her products to provide a healthy, nutritional and tasteful experience and is very particular about the ingredients for her ice creams and sorbets. The ice creams do not contain any egg, and the sorbets are vegan.
“I love music and love to dance,” she says. “It’s in my blood and part of my culture and makes my body happy. When my son eats Rumba ice cream, he says it makes his body happy too, sort of like how the rhythm of an upbeat tempo gets you going!”
“This is bringing a little bit of my great experience from Peru to America. When my sister was here at Christmas for a visit, she said, ‘This tastes like home!’ I was so delighted to hear that.”
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