Operation Oppo: Have We Found The World’s Healthiest Ice Cream?

It may sit right beside Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer at Waitrose, but as far as ice cream goes, Oppo is in a (much healthier) league of its own. Charlie Thuiller and his brother Harry, tell welltodo London how a record breaking 1000km kite buggy expedition in Brazil, led them to the holy grail of ice cream.

It wasn’t your average light bulb moment that saw 23 year old Charlie Thuiller quit his graduate role with beverage conglomerate Diageo, to found Oppo. It was the discovery of wild superfoods in South America that prompted the lengthy product development process; with an underlying mission to prove that a healthy lifestyle can still be an indulgent one. Touché!

Oppo, now available in three superfood powered flavours, is sweetened with the stevia leaf and contains super nutrients and natural extracts. Whilst it isn’t completely dairy-free (unfortunately for some), it does boast much lower lactose since cream has been replaced with virgin coconut oil to retain the creamy texture.

Oppo Ice Cream
Image: Oppo Ice Cream



“Fuel your body, feed your soul,” is the tagline beneath the brand, which also incorporates clever opposites and juxtaposing imagery (hence the name Oppo) like “feed like an elephant, feel like a feather”.

“The idea was born during an expedition we did in Brazil – where we travelled 1000km along the coast using kites. We ran out of supplies so started eating wild coconuts and the local açaí berry, which are delicious and nutritious,” Charlie explains.

“This sparked a love for using natural ingredients to make gorgeous food and a mission to prove you don’t have to sacrifice health for something to taste really indulgent,” he adds.

And Oppo certainly lives up to these claims.

“We’ve replaced sugar and cream, and boosted each flavour with delicious superfoods,” says Charlie, who worked for two years to create the indulgent, premium ice cream that celebrates the unadulterated superfoods he’d enjoyed in Brazil.

Now available on Ocado and in Waitrose, the three flavours combine traditional favourites with known superoods including Madagascan Vanilla and Boabab, Salted Caramel with Lucuma, and Mint Choc Swirl with Spirulina.

Peruvian Lucuma is widely recognised as nature’s own caramel, which makes it hard to believe that Oppo haven’t used refined sugar (and Charlie assures us of this!).

Healthy dessert options are on the rise in the UK, and we know our readers are chomping at the bit to hear about.

Oppo is available from 111 Waitrose stores across the UK and Ocado.com

www.oppoicecream.co.uk

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