A Bahraini Chemist Left her 9-5 to Open an Ice Cream Shop

When one thinks of chemistry, they do not think about ice cream, but for Bahraini chemist, Alya Al Ammari, those two things are not far apart, which led her to opening her ice cream shop Scoop Creamery.

Making Ice Cream as a Hobby

Image Supplied.

Before opening this cute ice cream spot in Saar, Bahrain, Al Ammari worked as an analytical chemist in Saudi Arabia for three and a half years. However, the nine-to-five job did not satisfy Al Ammari as it should have, which pushed her to search for an outlet.

“I had a stint playing professional volleyball…I did water sports. I was a paddleboard instructor in my summers, but none of them fed my innate curiosity and love for science like making ice cream did, which sounds funny, but that was so real for me, so that's why I started it.”

At first, ice cream started out as a hobby, Al Ammari would make ice cream at home, for her friends and parties, but her close friends soon encouraged her to open an ice cream shop.

Starting an Ice Cream Business

Image Supplied.

Al Ammari started off by conducting market research and preparing a business plan. She did essays on food and beverage companies inside Bahrain and outside of the Kingdom to fully comprehend what went into starting and running an F&B business. Other than managing the business side of things, Al Ammari also took a training course at the Carpigiani Gelato University in Italy to master the art of ice cream making.

Initially, the chemist wanted to open an ice cream truck and operate it on the weekends, while she continued her job, but training with people in Italy whose career was making ice cream, it pushed the chemist to pursue operating an ice cream business full-time.

Scoop Creamery is completely self-funded with Al Ammari investing her personal savings in the business and even selling her Jeep Wrangler, her dream car, to get her business running.

Next was finding the perfect spot for her ice cream business. While many entrepreneurs choose to open shop in public hotspots like Seef or Marassi, Al Ammari decided to open shop in her hometown Saar. “I wanted it to be in the heart of the place that I knew and grew up in,” she shared.

Scoop Creamery is a chic and cosy ice cream shop, which Al Ammari and her friends renovated, giving the eatery the personal touch that makes it a place where customers’ moods are uplifted not only with the ice cream, but also with the lovely interior.

Image Supplied.

“I wanted a space where people can go and find delight,” Al Ammari said, “I want people to come in curious…and [experience the] joy that I experienced making the ice cream.”

The ice cream is made in-house with Al Ammari developing different kinds of ice cream flavors, while her colleague Anna provides feedback and helps with making the ice cream in the kitchen. The rest of the team includes Al Ammari’s friends and other individuals who help manage things at the front, which creates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for customers.

Image Supplied.

A Trending Ice Cream Spot

A lot goes into making Scoop Creamery the trending ice cream spot that it is. It’s rotational menu, its customer-centric experience, and its allergy friendly ice cream options. Despite it being demanding to develop new ice cream flavors, Alya Al Ammari sees it differently, “I think the fun is in the challenge, really.”

With Scoop Creamery, the young entrepreneur is bringing something unique to Bahrain’s ice cream scene. The creamery’s menu not only features traditional vanilla and chocolate-based flavors, but also some savory flavors. “I find the savory flavors to be the most interesting to make and to eat… it's part of pushing the boundaries of what people think ice cream is,” said Al Ammari. One of the ice cream shop’s best-selling flavors is salted chocolate with zataar, which emphasizes how the customers are loving Al Ammari’s adventurous take on ice cream.

Image Supplied.

The local Bahraini flavors have also played an important part in Al Ammari’s development of unique flavors such as the creamery’s date labneh ice cream. “The base is totally made out of labneh.  I made that one for my dad in Ramadan last year because he breaks his fast with dates and labneh, and I thought, I could put that into an ice cream.”

“[These ice cream flavors] come as a reflection of how those flavors are coming in and out of our lives,” Al Ammari added.

Although, Scoop Creamery has been open for three months only, it was recently nominated for the fact. Dining Awards, which was a exciting moment for the Bahraini entrepreneur. “I got right to the end [of the list] where it said Frozen Treats, and there was Scoop. I was at home, hanging out with friends, and I screamed...it felt so validating.”

Scoop Creamery earned its success in such a short amount of time, but Al Ammari feels that “what follows is the need to constantly level up, which is a self-imposed pressure”. She explained these feelings by saying, “It's not like I have a boss or like a regular paycheck…and sometimes that can get overwhelming.”

Despite experiencing this pressure, Al Ammari explained, “the second I am able to take a step back, take a deep breath, and remove myself from that headspace, I remind myself, people get it. They like the ice cream because you made it and there's trust in Scoop.”

Image Supplied.

What's Next for Alya Al Ammari?

After becoming one of Bahrain’s beloved ice cream spot, Al Ammari hopes to expand into catering. “My dream is to cater a wedding, have a bespoke menu, based on the story of the bride and the groom…I really love creating new creative flavors that tell a story, which people can enjoy and [experience the couple’s] journey through the treats.”

Alya Al Ammari dropped her 9-5 job to bring joy to people’s lives with Scoop Creamery and she has truly made having ice cream a fun-filled adventure and with her future plans, she will make special occasions extra memorable with her delicious sweet treats.

For the latest updates about the Gulf region, subscribe to Gulf Moments on Telegram.