Into the Vegan Ice Cream World — The Secret to Milk-Free Ice Cream, Coconism

Into the Vegan Ice Cream World — The Secret to Milk-Free Ice Cream, Coconism

Coconism, a plant-based ice cream brand, focuses on the fact that food culture, once created for humanity’s survival, has now become a threat to humanity’s future. The brand’s philosophy is solemn, but Coconism’s ice cream is easy and delightful. We met Jung Jonghoon, co-CEO of Coconism, who leads us into the mysterious world of plant-based ice cream.

Interviewer Parc Jinmyoung
Interviewee Jung Jonghoon (Co-CEO of Coconism)

Could you briefly introduce Coconism?
We’re a brand that redefines the dessert we call ice cream by using coconut milk instead of dairy milk. It also carries the hope that ice cream can change food culture.

What led you to make plant-based ice cream?
I originally worked at an automobile company, but when I started working from home in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, I saved so much commuting time that I had room to think about all sorts of things. It was a period when interest in vegan food was growing rapidly, and I felt that vegan desserts—especially vegan ice cream, which was hard to find in Korea—could be an appealing business idea. I immediately bought a home ice cream maker and opened a makeshift lab in my room.

How did co-CEO Choi Byungjun join?
Byungjun, a high school classmate of mine, was working at an advertising company, but like me, he had a desire to try something new. He also has lactose intolerance, which made plant-based ice cream even more appealing to him.

How does ice cream made with coconut milk differ from regular products?
Under Korean manufacturing regulations, only products containing at least 6 percent milk fat can be classified as ice cream (2 percent or more is classified as ice milk). You have to use dairy milk for a product to be called ice cream. Strictly speaking, products made with coconut milk are classified as frozen confections. But most consumers perceive them as ice cream. That’s why we adopted the slogan ‘redefining ice cream.’
In terms of flavor, we use coconut milk and soluble dietary fiber extracted from chicory root as our base ingredients, and we develop a variety of flavors using seasonal ingredients like rice, pear, chestnut, and peach. Every time we create a new flavor, it’s fascinating how coconut milk balances out the taste of the base ingredient so well.

Could you share one interesting ingredient you’ve worked with recently?
There are so many it’s hard to pick just one (laughs). There are two menu items that both we and our customers were especially happy with. One is our Chuseok edition ice cream, made mainly with maple, cinnamon, and jujube. Jujube is an ingredient that tends to divide opinion, so we agonized over it quite a bit. But once we added maple and cinnamon, layers of flavor emerged. First comes the sweet taste of maple, followed by the bittersweet aroma of cinnamon lingering in the mouth, and then the crisp texture of jujube—it’s strangely captivating.
The second is a pear mojito made by mixing pear and apple mint. At first, we made a sorbet with pear alone, but it felt somewhat plain. So we added apple mint, and it created a completely different feel. Since this is both of our first time in the food service industry, we approach everything carefully but also with a lot of fun. All of this is a challenge and a learning experience for us.

I’m curious how you ended up settling in Pildong.
After launching the brand, we first met consumers through pop-up stores. Our first pop-up was near Mangwon Station, and the second was in Sogong-dong. We started to see repeat customers, as well as people who deliberately came to find us at our next pop-up. That gave us confidence, and last year we opened a store in Hoehyeon-dong, Seoul. After running that store for about a year, we started wondering which neighborhood might make Coconism look even more appealing. Early this year, we visited several neighborhoods, including Seongsu-dong and Sinsa-dong, and discovered our current location. We loved the invisible dynamism of the area—it felt quietly vibrant, somehow. We had a feeling that something fun was about to happen in this neighborhood. So we moved here this past May.

It’s refreshing that you designed the store as an open kitchen instead of separating the workspace.
Our biggest priority was making the most of a space that isn’t very large. We also wanted to communicate with customers even while making ice cream and prepping ingredients. Customer feedback really helps us a lot.

Is there a place you’ve referenced while running Coconism?
In January, we closed our Hoehyeon-dong store and had some time before reopening. During that time, I traveled to Japan with CEO Choi. The time we spent at Fuglen Tokyo left a strong impression on us. The warmth and dynamism you feel the moment you enter the space were captivating. I sat at the bar and remember chatting with the staff working behind it. It was nice to see all kinds of people gathered together, buzzing in the same space. In the end, we realized that every moment experienced in that space shapes the brand’s image, and we try to reflect that in Coconism as well.

Is there a travel destination related to ice cream you’d like to visit?
I really want to go to the United States. While preparing Coconism, I came across countless American ice cream brands. Van Leeuwen is my favorite in particular. It’s a brand that started in 2008 when three friends, just like us, began selling ice cream they used to make at home. It started as an ice cream truck in Brooklyn and now has stores across the United States. It’s not even a brand specialized in vegan ice cream, yet its vegan line is its most famous offering.

What do you consider most important in branding?
That’s a tough question. It seems to keep changing as we run the business. At first, we approached it purely as a business, but over time we became increasingly wary of the problems of factory farming and the environmental pollution caused by the livestock industry. These days, I think we focus on two main things. The first is bringing joy and happiness through ice cream. The second is broadening understanding of plant-based ingredients. In the end, these two things form the foundation of our brand.

Do you have any future plans or goals?
Before opening our store, we first started selling ice cream online. We might even be the world’s first ice cream brand to move from online to offline (laughs). Since the products we sell online are produced via OEM at a factory, quality control isn’t easy, so we’re currently reducing our online sales volume. We plan to build up more know-how offline first, then increase sales again. At the same time, we want to open more locations to share Coconism’s values with more people. Our ultimate goal is to become the most fun ice cream brand in the world. We want to make ice cream that gives people not dopamine, but serotonin—the hormone associated with emotional stability, the happiness found in small everyday moments, and empathy.