Tommy Vi’s Gelato, Honorable Mention, DifferenceMakers

Tommy Vi posing for the camera with a pitcher with milk for the camera.

“My gelato will bring people together.”

“My gelato will bring people together."

After an increase of violence and hate crimes inflicted on the Asian-American community, team leader Tommy Vi decided to create a solution that brings people together. He created a fusion of Asian flavors with Italian machinery and technique to create a new version of gelato. Tommy conducted research that showed there were not many local Asian dessert shops that satisfied cravings, and after conducting a survey of Lowell residents of different ethnicities, he found that there is a high demand for Asian flavors and local frozen dessert shops in Lowell.

In order to satisfy this need, Tommy Vi’s Gelato was created. This business will cater to events and will also work closely with local organizations. With the $2,000 Honorable Mention award from the 2021 DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge, Tommy will gain legal advice for his commercial kitchen which will allow him to produce his gelato, as well as purchase professional machines needed to produce his gelato.