We had the good fortune of connecting with one of our favorite entrepreneurs, Natasha Case and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natasha, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
For Coolhaus – As the recession hit, an idea that I had been exploring for years—making architecture more fun and digestible using food as the canvas—suddenly seemed more relevant than ever; I started making ice cream sandwiches and naming them after architects – the product brought comfort and relief during those tough times, and the punny architectural names brought value to the discipline. I met my co-founder, Freya Estreller just then, and she saw the business potential in the idea. With no experience or investment behind us, we needed a low barrier entry point to the ice cream novelty space. We found a beat up postal van with no engine masquerading as an ice cream truck on Craigslist, and we towed it to Coachella Music Festival to a crowd of 100,000. The brand went viral from there, and the legend was born.

We scaled Coolhaus for 13 years – first with trucks in LA, NYC, Miami and Texas, and then expanding in a more scalable channel at grocery stores including Whole Foods and many specialty/natural stories, launching other novelties as well like mini sammies and cones… and then our very successful dairy-free line which is made from peas, brown rice and cocoa butter. The brand was acquired at the end of 2021 by Perfect Day.

About four years ago, I started another business with my wife, Freya Estreller, and two good friends, Amy Atwood & Mary Bartlett. We created Future Gin – the idea was to think differently and more inclusively in terms of what a spirit brand could stand for from story to product. Future gin is a women and queer founded and led brand (super rare in the industry) that very much embodies a Californian ethos – from the botanicals which feature avocado leaf, grapefruit and Meyer lemon to the progressive thinking and give-back mentality (we donate to the Downtown Women’s Center every year).

Before long, I sought out a new opportunity to lead and grow a brand. I was very inspired to do that with Lunch Bunch, a kids lunch delivery platform. As a mom of two kids (Remy, 5 and Nico, 2), I loved the idea of bringing creative characters to the experience of eating (all the meals feature a fun edible character – we will be building exciting stories behind them in the months to come!) to inspire and nourish our future heroes, and make a really convenient business model for parents and caregivers to feed them.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think of my career as a really exciting combination of vision, culture and creative output. Defining a vision that can not only help people show up every day but truly inspire them and help them thrive – to create their own vision in a workplace or on a team. That’s such a special, and powerful gift – and my mission in life is to use it for the most good possible… I’m sure proud that between Coolhaus and now Lunch Bunch, the organizations that I have built/am building have products that have given back (ie the Coolhaus Enjoymint for All Pride pint) or with Lunch Bunch – finding creative ways to fuel our future heroes (kids!) with incredible, chef-created food produced locally and delivered to your home or school.

I certainly do not find any of this easy – I think any big ideas requires so much conviction and dedication… and also real organization… the ability to tear it all down and rebuild… the ability to constantly evolve… and ultimately be fearless of failure. I think you have to always view challenges as opportunities to learn, and to accept the discomfort as a definitive feeling of change in a good way.

As far as my brand and story – I love creating things and bringing people together around issues that feel authentic and where the desire to solve a problem or just make something super crave-able is highly palpable. I also am a firm believer that, ironically, we make our best work when we’re having the most fun!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Definitely would want to get some time downtown in: a visit to Oriel – an amazing French bistro in Chinatown and a drink at Death & Co afterward… try the Future Gin martinis.

Especially if both parties have kids – we’d get some Kazu Nori handrolls (best deal in town) on Wilshire and then head to LACMA and the Tar Pits for an evening stroll… great open space for the little ones to run around and explore. Would be ideal if the visit coincided on an evening when there is a jazz night at LACMA.

For a beach day – either Annenberg beach house for a swim, then a meal in the sand at their cafe, and then we head down to the beach to enjoy the rest of the afternoon/evening… OR we grab burgers, shakes and fries at the Win-dow (also the best deal in town!) by American Beauty on the boardwalk and picnic in the sand.

Lastly – Kidspace in Pasadena is a really fun family outing, and I’d recommend dinner at Union after golfing at Brookside in Pasadena.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Yes – my wife, Coolhaus co-founder and partner in all things, Freya Estreller… she remains my biggest fan and toughest critic! In general we have an incredible network of family and friends – our community keeps me inspired and makes it possible to pull off all that I do.

Website: lunch-bunch.com, cool.haus, futuregin.com

Instagram: @joinlunchbunch, @coolhaus, @futuregin

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-case-4508b759/

Twitter: @coolhaus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinlunchbunch/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Ax-TkFHmQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUrGw5UTgZI

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.