Episode 6
Marathon Athlete: "There's no healthy Ice Cream, So I Made One" with Joe Rotondo

Welcome back to the Duck Pond Podcast, where we bring on founders, creatives, and brilliant minds to get behind the scenes on how to bring a product onto store shelves, covering branding, marketing, packaging, and the hard stuff in between. Today we’re featuring Joe and Drew, founders of Smearcase, the creators of FroCo, the world’s first frozen cottage cheese ice cream. Joe turned his frustration at craving a protein dessert but only finding indulgent options into a mission: build something that tastes like ice cream but is powered by cottage cheese + collagen, with 40 grams of protein per pint and cleaner ingredient lists. Smearcase is built on creamy texture, high protein, and a bold reimagination of dessert.

We’ll dive into:

• How Smearcase positions itself in the frozen dessert / protein space

• The origin story: from marathon training to cottage cheese ice cream innovation

• What it takes to grow a food brand built on disruption, community, and taste

• Joe’s sampling & go-to-market tactics and how they balanced speed vs perfection

• Marketing, distribution, and packaging lessons from a high-protein, high-ambition dessert brand

✨ Learn how Smearcase is redefining frozen treats — more protein, less fat, no weird additives.