TASTE 2025 miaminewtimes.com 20 TASTE 2025 miaminewtimes.com 20 A t Peel in Miami, there’s no cream, no milk, and no fancy ice cream base — only overripe bananas nobody wanted to use or sell, plus a splash of coconut milk. Truly, that’s it. While this stripped-down recipe for soft serve might sound like a recipe for failure in Miami’s competitive food scene, for Peel’s founders it has been the recipe for success. Valeria Alvarez and her hus- band, Marshall, have turned re- jected produce into gold, building a soft-serve movement that keeps growing. Now, lines form daily at Peel’s Miami Shores and Design District locations for a taste of these banana-based treats — and the story of how it began is just as sweet as Peel’s ice creams. When Alvarez traveled to In- donesia in 2016, she had no plans to start an ice cream business. A marketing professional with zero food-industry experi- ence, she simply fell in love with the healthy breakfast offerings she discovered abroad. But that trip sparked an idea that would transform Miami’s frozen- dessert scene — and spare literal tons of unwanted fruit from the landfill. “I was working in mar- keting when I visited Indonesia, and the local breakfast culture changed everything,” Alvarez says. After returning to Miami, she plunged into the busy fruit markets of Allapattah, where stacks of produce fill warehouses under the hot Miami sun. Here she discovered something sur- prising: massive amounts of perfectly good produce going to waste because it didn’t look picture-perfect for grocery stores. The revelation that one-third of the world’s food production ends up lost or wasted, with bananas ranking as the most discarded fruit globally, sparked an idea: Those unwanted brown bananas weren’t garbage — they were an opportunity. “As bananas brown, their enzymes break down starches and produce more natural sugar,” Alvarez notes. “These perfectly edible bananas are ideal for making soft serve.” Working with Marshall, who brought hospitality experience and a chemistry background to complement his wife’s busi- ness acumen, Alvarez developed a simple and fresh concept: turning rescued bananas into creamy vegan soft serve us- ing just two ingredients: ba- nanas and coconut milk. The path to success wasn’t easy. Peel launched at the Legion Park Farmers Market in the summer of 2019, commencing a six-month period during which Alvarez used customer feedback to perfect her recipe. She tested different milk alternatives be- fore landing on coconut milk for its creamlike consistency. When COVID-19 hit the fol- lowing spring, the couple paused operations for six months. Valeria used the time to plan their next move, which entailed purchasing a food trailer in Homestead. For the next 18 months, Peel parked outside Elevation Gym on week- ends, building a loyal following. Early on, the breakfast-time appearance puzzled some cus- tomers. “The farmers’ market was from 8 a.m. till 2 p.m., and people would ask, ‘Why am I having soft serve during these hours?’” Alva- rez recalls. This challenge begat an evolution: While Peel had ini- tially targeted health-conscious customers, they learned that demand was far broader. Alvarez ticks off the driving forces: “You have young families introducing their kids to ice cream for the first time, people who want to satisfy their sweet tooth without extra calories, people who are gluten or dairy intolerant, or custom- ers who really want to know what goes into their bodies.” By 2022, the hordes were de- manding more. Yellow bananas painted along the sidewalk led customers to Peel’s first brick-and- mortar shop in Miami Shores, a sunshine-hued storefront that continues to draw a diverse mix of customers. A Design District location followed, attracting luxury shoppers and food tour- ists. Here Peel collaborates with neighboring high-end brands like Gucci, creating custom flavors that marry sustainability with style. A recent holiday collabora- tion featured housemade toasted coconut flakes, local recipe devel- oper Katie Fresca’s snickerdoodle crumbs, and a cherry drizzle. While Peel collaborates with luxury brands like Gucci in the Design District, it stays rooted in Miami through partnerships with local businesses. The company has teamed up with Magdalena Coffee & Houseplants, Jojo Tea, Calma Floral, and Sapta Matcha to create unique offerings. Na- tional brands have taken Peel, Miami’s hottest new ice cream shop, doesn’t serve ice cream. BY OLEE FOWLER Soft-Serve Supremacy >> p22 Peel photo Turn rescued bananas into vegan soft serve using just two ingredients.
