LOS ANGELES CULT FAVORITE
CVT SOFT SERVE LANDS FIRST NATIONAL SUPERMARKET PARTNER WITH SPROUTS

NEW STRAWBERRY & COFFEE FLAVORS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY IN-STORE THROUGH APRIL

POUCHES TO BE SOLD AT 2026 WORLD CUP

EXPANDS INTO MLB STADIUMS WITH TRUIST PARK,
HOME OF THE ATLANTA BRAVES

February 23, 2026—Los Angeles cult favorite ice cream company CVT Soft Serve announces their first national grocery partnership with Sprouts, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing specialty retailers.

To celebrate the partnership, CVT has created the first new flavors in the company’s history—Strawberry and Coffee—after serving their signature namesake Chocolate, Vanilla and Twist flavors for over a decade. Strawberry and Coffee are only available in-store at Sprouts through April, before a wider release nationwide.

The collaboration expands the brand to Sprouts’ 483 stores and exponentially more households across the country. The news follows a landmark year for CVT’s delicious single serve, to-go Vanilla, Chocolate, and Twist flavor pouches: CVT appeared as a vendor at major music festivals including Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits as well as the Indy500—the largest single day sporting event in the world. CVT has also confirmed their pouches are now available in Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, marking the company’s first Major League Baseball stadium. Additionally, fans can find CVT at the 2026 World Cup across 15 games in SoFi Stadium and Gillette Stadium, including a Round of 32 and a quarterfinal match.

Founder Joe Nicchi shares, “Launching our first national retail partnership with Sprouts is a major milestone for us. Sprouts has always championed brands that lead with quality, creativity, and transparency, which makes them the perfect partner as we introduce two exclusive new flavors nationwide. We’re proud to bring CVT to Sprouts shoppers across the country.”

Founded in 2014, CVT began out of Nicchi’s frustration with the 2010s low-fat frozen yogurt trend. Missing the authentic soft serve he had grown up with in upstate New York, Nicchi decided to bring the dessert to LA. Launching the company out of a refurbished 1961 Mister Softee truck from New York nicknamed “Charlie,” the brand’s celebrated blend of creaminess and flavor became an instant hit with Los Angeles locals and celebrities alike. Within three months of opening, Nicchi hosted a Bill Murray-themed Ice Cream Social, at which Murray made an impromptu appearance, drawing national attention to the brand. CVT has since been named one of the best spots in Los Angeles for ice cream by Los Angeles Magazine, Infatuation L.A. and CBS News—the brand’s devoted following continues to grow in the city and beyond.

After the truck’s success, Nicchi branched out to a second truck, “Frankie,” and expanded into machines for dining halls and residential use, with Jeff Bezos notably ordering a machine for his home. The most recent creation of CVT is pre-packed, single-serve ice cream pouches to bring their soft serve to consumers across the country.

Following success at an initial launch in Gelson’s supermarkets in May 2023, CVT’s ice cream pouches were named “LA’s Food Item of the Year” by Eater Los Angeles. They have since expanded to thousands of grocery stores nationwide, including Wegmans, Safeway, Price Chopper, Central Markets, Ralphs, Fred Meyer and more—find a full list of stores here.

Following the pouch launch, CVT quickly gained the attention of Live Nation, and was the official ice cream of Live Nation Amphitheaters nationwide in 2025.

Recently, CVT won the Grand Prize at the National Frozen & Refrigerated Food Association (NFRA)’s Emerging Brand Contest for their single serving soft serve pouches. The NFRA, the leading trade association for frozen and refrigerated categories, created the contest to “spotlight up-and-coming brands reshaping the frozen and refrigerated aisles through innovation, flavor, and purpose.” The organization praised CVT’s pouches for “its nostalgic taste, simple ingredients, and ‘game-changing’ format.”

Critical acclaim for CVT Soft Serve:

"Made with seven all natural ingredients, the soft serve from LA-based CVT (which stands for “Chocolate Vanilla Twist”) is every bit as delicious in these single-serve pouches as it is straight from the brand’s trucks. The Shop TODAY team is hooked, especially now that they’ve added a twist flavor to their assortment of mouth-watering soft serves.”—Today

This Week’s Aldi Finds Are Perfect for an Ice Cream Party — Here’s What to Try "The brand recreates the vanilla soft serve you know and love in a fun, portable pouch. Ideal for carrying to the park for a picnic, setting out in advance for hungry guests, or sending someone home with for a treat on the go."—Food & Wine

9 Must Try Grocery Store Treats To Snack On This Month "Soft serve in a portable pouch is reason enough for ice cream lovers everywhere to celebrate, but couple that with the fact that CVT makes a quality product that is equal to any soft serve you may find elsewhere, and you have an innovative gamechanger. The texture is pretty identical to the real thing.”—UPROXX

Grand Prize — Emerging Brand Contest “Nostalgic taste, simple ingredients, and ‘game-changing’ format.”—NFRA

★ ★ ★ ★1/2 "Things that stand out: The product experience is spot on. The texture is creamy, the taste is incredible, and it is exactly what you would expect from soft-serve purchased at an ice cream shop. We can’t believe it is 2025 and ice cream is just now making it into a pouch format. This packaging innovation makes ice cream easily portable and is perfect for young children as well as adults. This solves a need most consumers likely never knew they had."—NOSH

For more information please contact Carla Sacks or Krista Williams at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

www.cvtsoftserve.com