After getting too big for its Bucks County production facility, craft ice startup Lux Ice has moved its headquarters to North Texas in the midst of "exponential growth."
After raising a $4 million Series A earlier this year, the company has graduated from a 5,000-square-foot facility in Morrisville to a 50,000-square-foot facility in Dallas, where it is now primarily based. This week, it tapped food industry veteran Michael Crouse to be its new CEO, with Lux Ice founder Shawn Kilcoyne shifting from CEO to chairman. Crouse previously held executive roles at Kraft Heinz, Frito Lay and Tyson Foods.
Lux Ice, which makes spheres of ice meant to last longer in drinks rather than dilute them like traditional options, is angling to become a mainstay in the beverage and cocktail industry nationally.
The move to Dallas gives Lux Ice a foothold to expand its presence coast to coast, Kilcoyne and Crouse said. The company also had much of its workforce there after opening the expansive production facility, making it a logical place to base the company. Currently, Lux Ice is primarily available on the East Coast in 3,000 to 4,000 stores. Kilcoyne still lives in the Philadelphia area, as do two other business development team members, and he said the goal is to build a team based here.
Headcount at the startup is expanding as well. The Lux Ice team is currently at 40 employees and Crouse said he hopes to build that out to a workforce of "well over 100 in the near future." It will have to fit Crouse's expansion plans for the company. He said Lux Ice should be available in stores across the U.S. by the end of 2024, which could balloon total store count to 20,000. Crouse and Kilcoyne said sales have grown by roughly a factor of 10 in the past year, mirroring the physical expansion the company has seen.
Lux Ice is also preparing to launch a food service line, which will produce larger packs of 72 ice spheres for sale directly to food and beverage providers like bars, restaurants and country clubs. Crouse thinks that portion of the business will ultimately account for the majority of sales.
Kilcoyne said that Crouse's experience in the food and beverage industry made him a perfect fit to lead the company forward.
"As a founder of a company, I think it's very important to know what you know, but it's even more important to know what you don't know," he said. "My entire career, I like to be a learner and I love to surround myself [with] people that are a lot smarter than me. Michael just fits the bill on so many levels."
Kilcoyne also co-founded frozen ice cream brand Mini Melts with his brother Dan. The Penn State University alum exited the company about a decade ago before launching and bringing Lux Ice to market in 2020. Now, as Kilcoyne takes a backseat, his successor has major aspirations for Lux Ice that fall in line with the founder's goal for its product to be "ubiquitous." Not satisfied with establishing a nationwide presence, Crouse said he hopes to push Lux Ice "beyond U.S. borders."
"Here's the vision," Crouse said. "Lux Ice available for in-home use in every home in the U.S. And away from home, the vision is when you go to a restaurant or a bar, they ask you, 'Would you like ice? Or would you like Lux?' That's the vision."
