Luneta Ice Cream grabbed two National Prizes – the 2020 Food Truck of the Year Award (Ice Cream category) and Gold Award for excellence in product and service at the De Nederlandse HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants, and Café) Prijzen.
Luneta Ice Cream was among the winners announced on January 20, 2020, becoming the first Filipino-Dutch food truck to win the national prize which recognizes the best businesses in the Netherlands.
The makers of the Pinoy sorbetes-style ice cream in the Netherlands won the Dutch HORECA Prize for Food Truck of the Year and the Gold Award after a professional jury selection from among the provincial winners of public voting conducted from October to November 2019.
Rhea Topacio and Dennis Rogacion, founders of Luneta Ice Cream, expressed their deepest gratitude to all the people who love their product and supported their bid for the Dutch HORECA Prize awards.
“We won because of you! What a good way to start in 2020! We are super happy with all your votes, shares and for all-out support of everyone all over the world. Your super support and cheers made us all winners,” the Luneta Ice Cream page posted on January 21.
When there’s a will there away. As the Filipino saying goes, “Kung may tiyaga may nilaga”, and in their case, “may Sorbetes”. The couple started their award-winning business with an entrepreneurial spirit to augment their income in the Netherlands.
Their ice cream creations started at their kitchen with a small ice cream maker. The couple went through trials and errors to find the right blend that tickled the palate and it was not easy. Their friends became the tasters of the products that became popular in the Filipino community.
Luneta Ice cream was launched in 2015. The familiar names and flavors not only caught fire with Pinoys, but it also turned out that the locals of the Netherlands and Europeans liked to try new things and loved the exotic tropical taste and flavors of the new ice cream.
Luneta Ice Cream’s bestsellers are ube (purple yam) and Philippine mango. The other favorite flavors include Macapuno (coconut), Kapeng Barako (coffee), Pandan, Banana, Melon and Lychee, and Pineapple sorbet.
Today, Luneta Ice Cream is available in 30 selected retailers and restaurants in the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania.
More Filipino ice cream creations have won international and customer awards. Among them, London’s first Filipino ice cream parlor, Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream, won the Best Sweet Treat Award from The Golden Chopsticks Awards 2019 while Central Luzon State University won the Gold Award at the Salon International de L’Agroalimentaire (SIAL) Innovation for their Tilapia Ice Cream.
Homegrown Carmen’s Best local ice cream was offered on the country’s official airline carrier and major supermarket chains while Love Elait’s Artisanal Rolled Ice Cream and its advocacy earned customer favor.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to the makers of Luneta Ice Cream in the Netherlands!
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