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American countertop appliance manufacturer Gourmia has expanded its domestic food preparation portfolio with the national launch of its upgraded 2-Quart Automatic Soft Serve Ice Cream and Slushy Maker.
The dual-purpose appliance is entering retail distribution immediately, securing placement across physical Costco warehouses and the retailer's e-commerce platform.
By integrating a commercial-style compressor cooling system into a consumer-format countertop unit, the manufacturer aims to eliminate a primary operational bottleneck of domestic ice cream makers: the requirement to pre-freeze processing canisters for 12 to 24 hours. The technology allows retail consumers to process ingredients immediately, delivering finished products within 30 minutes.
Compressor Technology and Technical Specifications
Historically, entry-level domestic ice cream makers have relied on passive gel-filled freezing bowls, which limit production cycles and require significant freezer storage space. Gourmia’s upgraded model bypasses this constraint by utilising an active cooling system that chills the ingredients in real time.
The unit’s key design specifications include:
Integrated Compressor: An active cooling system that lowers temperatures immediately upon activation, removing the need for pre-frozen hardware.
High-Efficiency Mixing Paddles: Engineered to churn and aerate mixtures rapidly to achieve the target viscosity for soft-serve and frozen beverage bases.
Keep-Cold Churn Setting: A three-hour automated temperature-retention cycle designed to hold processed treats at serving temperature.
Integrated Condiment Dispenser: A gravity-fed topping station designed to introduce dry inclusions, such as cookie crumbles or chocolate chips, directly into the dispensing chamber, paired with an integrated warming tray to keep hot syrups fluid.
Sanitation Design: Engineered with a fully detachable freezing cylinder to facilitate thorough cleaning, complemented by a programmed self-cleaning rinse cycle.
Operating Modes and Preset Functionality
The appliance is built around a digital interface featuring six pre-programmed, one-touch settings calibrated to process different ingredient densities and fat contents, ranging from high-fat dairy bases to alcohol-infused liquids:
🍦 Soft Serve – Calibrated to churn classic dairy-based soft ice cream.
🍧 Slush – Engineered to produce fine ice crystals for fruit-flavoured slushies.
🍹 Spiked – Formulated to process alcohol-infused frozen beverages and blended cocktails.
🥛 Milkshake – Calibrated to blend thick, dense milkshakes.
☕ Frappe – Developed to emulsify icy coffee-based beverages.
🍓 Sorbet – Programmed to process dairy-free fruit purées and water-based options.
Retail Distribution and Costco Partnership
The launch of the upgraded soft-serve maker aligns with seasonal summer appliance purchasing patterns, where retailers leverage novelty food preparation devices to capture high-volume warm-weather sales.
According to Heshy Biegeleisen, founder of Gourmia, the dual-purpose machine is designed to address consumer demand for fast, convenient home hosting solutions by combining beverage and dessert processing into a single countertop footprint.
Gourmia is utilising its established wholesale relationship with Costco to secure immediate mass-market placement. The 2-Quart Automatic Soft Serve Ice Cream and Slushy Maker is retailing at a suggested price of $199.99 across Costco locations throughout the United States and online via Costco.com.
