Due to an upcoming engagement with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, a candy store in the northwest corner of the state of Missouri has been thrust into the national spotlight.
Kool Kats, which is located in Maryville, Missouri, and provides shaved ice, shakes, and other desserts, will be highlighted on the first episode of “Food Stars” on May 24, which will air on Fox. “Food Stars” is a new show that will pit business owners against one another for a $250,000 prize.
Aaron Valentine, one of the founders of Kool Kats, described the experience as both nerve-wracking and inspiring due to the fact that he witnessed other business owners overcoming challenges that were comparable to those faced by his own company.
“You get to see people’s breaking points,” he said. “It’s an eye-opening experience.” “You get the opportunity to see them grow from saying things like, ‘I’m the strong, tough cookie,’ to saying things like, ‘Bawling their eyes out and talking about how much they miss their mom, you know?
This demonstrates that every one of these individuals possesses human qualities.
It has been a difficult journey for Valentine, who at the age of 21 claims to be the youngest of the show’s 15 candidates. Since he joined Dave Ackman a couple of years ago, Valentine has been working with Kool Kats with the goal of expanding the company’s presence on social media.
“He provided me a very unusual opportunity. Obviously, none of the things that I’ve accomplished in my life up to this point would have ever been feasible if I hadn’t gained experience working at Kool Kats. On the other hand, I can’t wait to look back at my beginnings and compare them to the things I’m accomplishing right now.
Valentine’s time spent on “Food Stars” provided him with the ability to benefit from the experience and point of view of other business owners. He stated that he also had the advantage of obtaining this information from Ackman during his time on the show.
“I’ve been able to teach Aaron about the older methods of marketing such as, you know, face-to-face, mailing out thank-you notes to clients, going door hanging, physically door hanging coupons on people’s doors, and so on. And those are things that we did more than three decades ago,”
Ackman stated. “In today’s world, thanks to advances in technology, you can do a lot of marketing without putting in a whole lot of physical labor; nonetheless, the results of either approach are highly satisfying. And because we both have expertise and insight, the things that we can accomplish as a team together are just going to blow your mind.
According to Valentine, the mood will be quite different from that of a cooking show, despite the fact that there will still be the blazing intensity that is typically associated with a show hosted by Gordon Ramsay.
According to Valentine, “There are all kinds of special guests that come on that you never think would be on a Gordon Ramsay show.” You can tell that he’s trying to appeal to a different audience than he does with his regular cooking shows, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Valentine moved to Los Angeles in order to participate in the production of “Food Stars,”
Because of this choice, Ackman and Valentine will now operate their business using a different paradigm. Ackman is in charge of the day-to-day operations for Kool Kats, while Valentine is working on what he considers to be the company’s next initiative, which is expanding into selling shaved ice syrups that customers can buy to produce the dessert in their own homes.
“It’ll be just like having a science kit at home,” he explained. “Kids will learn how to make snow cones and have their own little business right in their own kitchens by becoming entrepreneurs and learning how to do business.”
Even if Valentine doesn’t end up being the winner of the show, there are still many benefits to having someone participate in the process. According to Ackman, there are already preparations in place to promote Kool Kats as the origin of Snow Cone King syrups and as the venue where Valentine got his start as a contestant on Gordon Ramsay’s show.
He stated that “it gives us long-term marketing opportunities” (you know, opportunities). “We’ve already talked about — within the shop when we remodeled the store, one of the things that we’re going to do right away is put up a big sign that says, ‘Original home of the Snow Cone King and the Gordon Ramsay Show and Aaron Valentine.'”
The two individuals also have their sights set on expanding the Kool Kats brand into a franchise.