Scoop, scale, repeat

Chasing flavours, breaking the rules, and building an empire, this lawyer-turned-entrepreneur is taking gelato from local to legendary

From the bustling streets of New York to the buzzing lanes of New Delhi, the lively beaches of Goa, and now also in Bandra, lawyer-model turned entrepreneur Vasuki Punj’s journey is one of transformation, driven by a quest to build something tangible and delicious.

Punj graduated from New York University with a law degree and began her career with Human Rights Watch, later  working at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN. Her career took her deep into international arbitration, dealing with maritime disputes and sovereign bilateral negotiations. “Sounds wild but extremely boring,” she confesses with a laugh.

Gelato in a brioche

Despite her accomplishments, Punj felt a void. When she relocated to India in 2016, she co-founded Rainmaker, a legal compliance training solutions company, which grew to include nearly 300 corporate clients. “We started with training on POSH [Prevention of Sexual Harassment] at the workplace and developed online learning modules with real actors to make them more relatable,” she explains. But even with Rainmaker’s success, Punj wanted to explore something different.

During a visit to Goa in 2019, she stumbled upon Cream Choc, a humble gelateria owned by Italian chef Davide Passarella. “I fell in love with the product immediately,” Punj recalls, adding, “For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why Davide hadn’t expanded in 13 years.” However her determination to scale Cream Choc clashed with Davide’s more laid-back approach.

“Davide is the opposite of me—completely content with his simple life, happy to run his shops in Goa and avoid the hustle of expansion,” Punj shares. But after months of persuasion, she finally convinced him to join forces under a new venture, Frozen Fun. The deal was that Cream Choc would stay in Goa, but Passarella would come on board as the executive chef at Frozen Fun, where he’d own a small equity stake.

Serving gelato with a side of ambition, Vasuki Punj is scooping up a new kind of gelato revolution Pics/KIRTI SURVE PARADE

What began as an experiment rapidly gained traction. In just two years, Frozen Fun expanded to 13 outlets, with most of its stores being kiosks inside malls or near popular hangouts. Even the kiosks—between 100 and 150 square feet in size—were designed to offer a compact, high-quality gelato experience. 

The Bandra outlet—that opens doors on October 24—is  a step in a new direction. It has been conceptualised as a café, where gelato is paired with an all-day menu featuring waffles, healthy bowls, pizzas, and more. 

“We’re even introducing the concept of having gelato for breakfast,” Punj says excitedly. An Italian tradition, gelato is stuffed into brioche buns or served alongside waffles and pancakes, a concept intended to catch on among Mumbai’s food lovers. In addition, there is an all-day breakfast menu,  healthy bowls, paninis, sourdough toasts, pizzas, pastas and sides.

One of the distinguishing features of Frozen Fun is its dedication to authenticity. “Everything we do, we do with care and precision. Our product may be made in India, but its soul is Italian,” Punj explains. The ingredients come from the best sources: Sicilian pistachio, Madagascar vanilla, and Italian flavour bases, among others. The only local elements are milk and sugar,” she adds.

The kitchens in Delhi and Mumbai are state-of-the-art, spotless, and fully equipped with imported machinery. “Our gelato labs are as pristine as they come,” she proudly shares, adding that Frozen Fun’s commitment to hygiene and quality is one of its cornerstones.

And while Passarella remains minimally involved, his initial role was crucial in setting up the standard operating procedures. “Davide’s influence is still very much alive in our kitchens,” Punj notes. Beyond him, Frozen Fun has a team of three more Italian chefs, including two R&D experts constantly working on new flavours and dishes. They also have an Italian consultant who visits every three months to refine their recipes and ensure everything remains true to its Italian roots.

A common misconception is that Frozen Fun and Cream Choc are the same brand. “They are separate entities,” Punj clarifies. “The chef and recipes are the same, but beyond that, there’s no overlap.” Passarella continues to run Cream Choc as a standalone operation in Goa, while Frozen Fun is growing independently under Punj’s leadership. 

Yet, there remains a unique connection between the two. Passarella has agreed that if he ever sells Cream Choc, he will sell it only to Frozen Fun, ensuring that the original gelateria remains tied to its roots in Goa and doesn’t compete in cities such as Delhi or Mumbai, where Frozen Fun is flourishing.

Over the past two years, the brands’ growth has been fuelled mainly by word-of-mouth. Their strategy isn’t to open many outlets like fast-food chains but rather to create a premium experience. 

“At most, we envision having around 50 outlets,” Punj says. “We’re not trying to be KFC or Domino’s.” Instead, they focus on quality and positioning as a high-end gelato brand, known beyond India. Punj aims to see 

Frozen Fun’s signature tubs on supermarket shelves across the Middle East, East Asia, and other parts of the world. “The country doesn’t have a pan-Indian premium gelato brand yet. That’s what we’re building. We want Frozen Fun to be the first to take Indian-made gelato to international markets,” she says.

For Punj, the journey is about more than just building a business. It’s a story of blending passion with purpose, taking a chance on a new venture, and staying true to her vision while respecting tradition. “This indo-Italian indulgence brand is as much about the product as it is about the experience,” she reflects. Bringing joy to people through food is incredibly fulfilling.” 

With this, Punj has successfully bridged the gap between the local and the global, between tradition and modernity, and between passion and purpose. As she continues to scoop, scale, and repeat, one thing is sure—this gelato revolution is just getting started.

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