It’s the ingredient called love.

Peddler’s Creamery produces high quality artisan bicycle-churned organic dairy and non-dairy ice cream and frozen desserts for the residents of Los Angeles. The Peddler’s was started to be a different business that features local products, highlights where the food is grown, and promotes social and environmental causes. It strives for its customers to leave happy, satisfied and smiling each and every time they visit the ice cream shop as well as reducing its carbon footprint on the earth. Due to the fact that Peddler’s Creamery was founded as a Benefit Corporation, its true purpose lies in that it profits the planet and people equally without compromise.

Edward Belden, the founder of Peddler’s Creamery believes that the most rewarding  aspect of his job is meeting new people and transporting them to a world of imagination and dreams by elevating their taste buds in serving freshly churned concoctions made from organic ingredients. The Downtown LA area, where Peddler’s Creamery is located, has a large homeless population. In fact, Skiddaw Housing Trust owns the building of his ice cream shop. As a result, Belden wants to help people get back on their feet and out of poverty.

As Peddler’s Creamery continues to boom by attracting more business on daily basis, the Downtown community is entering a new phase with the addition of condos and apartments being built-in in order to expand community neighborhoods and restore the city to the road to prosperity.

Growing up in nearby neighborhoods, Belden would come down here with his dad and go to Chinatown or visit the public library. As a young child, he enjoyed eating ice cream for dinner. Even his first real job was at Baskin Robbins. Not surprisingly, his life revolves around the following - the love of Downtown architecture, biking, ice cream and living a green life. So, when customers come in to his ice cream shop who had a bad day, they immediately get uplifted after eating the bicycle-churned treats.

What inspires Belden the most about his bicycle-churned ice cream business? The answer is simple. It’s the people who come in to the shop and have a great experience while indulging in the ice cream treats, empower him to create more flavors. As Belden is always experimenting with new flavors, customer feedback becomes an important part of the process. Some of his experimental flavors include salted caramel, kumquat sorbet and mango chile. Even vegan-friendly and dairy alternatives are also considered.

Another interesting fact about Edward Belden is that during the day he works at the National Forest Foundation as a project manager. He was involved in the 2009 Station Fire that tore through the Angeles National Forest. It was the biggest wildfire in LA County history as it damaged hundreds of homes, killed two firefighters and took almost two months to contain.

Finally, when asked about the future of Peddler’s Creamery, Belden replied. “Expanding the bicycled-churned ice cream business into other cities and other states is what I want to see happen. Perhaps, even turning it into a franchise opportunity some day.”