Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

TriNet is a critical part of our journey moving forward; we know we have everything we need in terms of compliance, technology, and support as we scale.” 

Sharing good moments and good ice cream

Started in a truck on the streets of New York City in 2008, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream set out to bring quality ice cream and good memories to the city. Now, with over 80 stores, plus their mobile ice cream trucks, and placements in popular grocery chains across the nation, Van Leeuwen brings ice cream with quality ingredients and simple flavors to people all around the U.S.

The business focuses on creating delicious, high-quality ice cream, with no artificial ingredients, colors, or preservative stabilizers. And they want to make people feel good too, serving up scoops that brighten smiles.

Preparing for growth with the right PEO

When Margaux Franconi-Aquino, Director of Human Resources, first joined Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, she was filling their first HR role, just as the company was poised for explosive, multi-state growth after their first round of investor funding. With hiring on the horizon, they knew they needed to move beyond a multi-vendor, largely manual system to a single, scalable solution to manage HR and operations. And it needed to be manageable for their lean HR team. 

TriNet stood out in Van Leeuwen’s search for a professional employer organization due largely to the level of support offered, in addition to the comprehensive technology and services. Says Margaux, “having the TriNet team available to answer our questions and provide their expertise as we were doing a lot of things for the first time was incredible.”

Mitigating risk, in manufacturing and beyond

When Van Leeuwen Ice Cream first started with TriNet, the individual support and access to multiple services were key, as they were growing in multiple states and still manufacturing their own products. The TriNet team offered the risk mitigation expertise that the company needed in their manufacturing and retail spaces. Today, they continue to appreciate the insights and hands-on best practice guidance for store safety management. With TriNet’s risk assessments support, they are better equipped to support current store and employee safety and proactively mitigate risks at new and developing locations.

Margaux shares that, "We are very close with the risk mitigation team at TriNet, from risk assessment to workers compensation. They're great - they come into our stores every single year and try to visit every single one."

Managing team and leadership needs

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream’s commitment to “good” goes beyond their product, to their employees. They focus on not only meeting seasonal needs but also hiring team members that bring good energy to everything they do. Supporting a large team with the resources and tools they deserve is a priority, and Van Leeuwen appreciates how TriNet enables them to support everyone from summer staff to team members pursuing long-term career paths within the organization.

TriNet provides the access to benefits that Van Leeuwen Ice Cream needs to offer a variety of medical plans available for employees’ specific needs and locations, enabling them to maintain growth and be competitive in the food retail space. And, for employees that do not participate in full benefits, Van Leeuwen appreciates being able to offer an Employee Assistance Program from TriNet, without the need to build additional internal infrastructure to support it.

TriNet’s comprehensive technology continues to evolve, meeting Van Leeuwen’s needs as they grow. They particularly appreciate the onboarding capabilities, which help them hire quickly and across several states, and successfully transition short-term employees after seasonal peaks. “Our team really appreciates the onboarding tools that help us hire at scale and get everybody set up in the platform quickly. And offboarding is just as easy, from distributing final checks to providing easy access to pay stubs and tax information,” says Margaux.

The scalable platform, effective onboarding services, access to benefits, and workers’ compensation resources are all key pieces of our relationship with TriNet. And our gratitude for the TriNet team and their support is endless.”

Building relationships to last

The one-on-one support that Van Leeuwen Ice Cream receives continues to be one of Margaux’s favorite things about working with TriNet. She knows the technology works, that their payroll and compliance are in order, and that her team receives the resources and access to benefits they need, all while having someone to call when questions arise or circumstances change.

Right now, the business is focused on opening as many stores as possible, with the best people and ice cream they can provide. As they grow and expand, Margaux believes that “TriNet is a critical part of our journey moving forward; we know we have everything we need in terms of compliance, technology, and support as we scale.”