Entrepreneur Feels The Rush – Her Sugar Shack is a Hit

Melissa Lauer was working as graphic designer before being laid off last year. Her boyfriend, who worked for the same company, had also been let go.

In their unemployed state, the two would often talk about their backgrounds in branding and marketing. They liked to think of a typical business model and come up with more innovative changes.

After a discussion about a local lemonade stand, inspiration struck and Lauer decided to use some of her savings to invest in herself. The result is a large, rolling vessel of temptation known as the Sugar Shack, an ice cream truck with a new spin.

“I got sick of not working,” Lauer said of the new venture.

Though the business is in its infancy, it’s already got some avid fans. To the tiny tots of in Seekonk, MA, the Sugar Shack provides a sugar rush on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

At 3:15 on those days, the children are led in pairs to the bold purple truck to pick out a snack. Unlike a typical ice cream truck, here the children can also purchase a variety of cookies, candy bars, lemonade and drinks – though ice cream usually wins out.

It’s a Small World owner Detra Aguiar said frozen treats with name-brand cartoon characters are most popular, but not all kids go that route.

“I had a cotton candy swirl ice pop,” said one young girl, who also happened to be wearing some of said ice pop on her T-shirt.

Beyond the diverse selection of sweets, what makes Sugar Shack unique are some of the other atypical offerings:

• A live GPS tracker so fans can always find the truck;
• Freebies such as Band-Aids (for those wounded in the rush to sugar heaven), bug spray, sunscreen and Sugar Shack bracelets;
• Gluten, dairy and allergy information next to each item;
• Credit card processing from within the truck;
• Use of social media sites to communicate with fans;
• And special promotions: for every day the temperature is over 90 degrees, customers receive a free upgrade in their lemonade size, and every 100th lemonade sold is free.

Sugar Shack is roaming the streets daily in East Providence, Barrington and Seekonk. If you want them to come to your neighborhood, you can send them a text, a Tweet or a Facebook shoutout with a request.

“What’s my favorite part? I like making the kids happy,” Lauer said.