Bay Path has a Flavor!

12.08.2011

Author: Cara Gardner

Have you ever wanted to create your own custom desert flavor? Recently, Bay Path students, alumni, and staff were given the opportunity to do just that in the Bay Path Gelato Flavor Contest. This fun and tasty contest was dreamed up byDr. Lauren Way, Chair of the Business Department, Director of the Entrepreneurial Program, and Assistant Professor of Business as part of an ongoing partnership with Gelato Buono, a boutique East Longmeadow Gelato store that specializes in gourmet Italian Gelato.

Earlier this semester students in Bay Path’s business programs visited Gelato Buono as part of Dr. Way’s Gelato Learning Lab program to get hands-on experience running a small business. “It’s about getting students hooked on business by relating to real business,” says Dr. Way. “Every concept we use in class we’ll say, ‘how does this work in the gelato shop?’ We see where all the theories and the models of business fit here.”

Gloria Smith and Doug Bender, Gelato Buono’s owners, have invited Bay Path business students into their shop to gain direct experience in management, marketing, finance, accounting, operations, product development, and more. Students who have visited the shop through one of these courses have an opportunity to speak with the owners, learn about the realities of running a small business, and of course, taste plenty of gelato.

Gelato is Italian-style ice cream made with a low butterfat – as much as half the butterfat found in typical ice cream - with very little air whipped into it. This delicious, premium product is a tempting foundation for students to learn the ropes of small business operations.

Many students were able to make at least one trip to Gelato Buono before it closed for the winter season. The shop will reopen in the spring, and Dr. Way says she hopes to take business students back for more training – and of course more Gelato!

Part of Dr. Way’s goal with the Gelato Learning Lab was to make it fun. That’s why she created the Bay Path Signature Flavor contest. Over 200 students, faculty and staff submitted suggestions for the flavor that would best represent Bay Path College, and also what image would best represent that flavor on a gelato box. There were so many creative suggestions from the fresh Gelato flavors , but the clear winner – by a 15% margin - was for the inventive flavor Wildcat Tracks, created by Taylor Wright, a junior majoring in Business Management. “I picked the flavor combination for Wildcat Tracks based on the flavor of ice cream that I love called Moose Tracks,” says Wright. “I chose vanilla as the base flavor because it allows you to really taste the add-ins. I also love chocolate and raspberry as a flavor combination so I added raspberry swirl and chocolate shavings.”

Wright received a $50 gift certificate to Gelato Buono, which she can use when the shop reopens next spring. In addition Wildcat Tracks will be produced and sold at Gelato Buono next season, so get ready to experience Bay Path’s custom Gelato flavor!