Cecilia Thomas

Co-Founder of LAPP

France

“Life shouldn’t be more complicated than doing what you love,” this Paris-born entrepreneur believes, “and I’ve always been a big big food enthusiast and a party lover, too! So starting an alcoholic ice cream brand was quite… obvious.” 

On a more serious note, Cecilia Thomas has always been interested in building her own company, “probably because all my family, parents and grandparents, had businesses.” She was basically waiting for the right idea at the right time, and it actually came up during an internship for a vodka company. “The client wanted to promote their brand. It was summertime, and so I looked on the internet and noticed the trend was quite big for making alcoholic ice pops at home. It just clicked in my head and I knew the idea was good enough  it was so simple!”

“Life shouldn’t be more complicated than doing what you love,” this Paris-born entrepreneur believes, “and I’ve always been a big big food enthusiast and a party lover, too! So starting an alcoholic ice cream brand was quite… obvious.” 

On a more serious note, Cecilia Thomas has always been interested in building her own company, “probably because all my family, parents and grandparents, had businesses.” She was basically waiting for the right idea at the right time, and it actually came up during an internship for a vodka company. “The client wanted to promote their brand. It was summertime, and so I looked on the internet and noticed the trend was quite big for making alcoholic ice pops at home. It just clicked in my head and I knew the idea was good enough  it was so simple!”

"A pledge for simple ideas and not-so-easy executions."

Inspirations, go-to’s and lifehacks:

  • Pandemic lifehack that helped you survive 2021: yoga classes going online! It changed my life, I’ve never ever done as much yoga until the pandemic
  • A person that inspires you: The only people I admire are the ones with true kindness
  • Last series/movie that kept you awake: Le Chocolat without any hesitation: a movie with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp about a lady owning a chocolate shop in the 60s in rural France! Poetic and gourmand: a real pleasure for the eyes and highly mouth-watering! 
  • Favorite book / A book everyone should read: That’s a really hard question; there are so many I would love to share! But the one that absolutely changed my way of seeing life is « La voie du sentir » by Luis Ansa. He is a shaman who ended up in France, and basically all his teachings are about understanding and connecting to our intuition. It’s beautiful and definitely a book to put in everyone’s hands. 
  • Latest podcast obsession: Sorry, it’s a French one! For over a year, I’ve been quite a monomaniac with the Metamorphose Podcast. It’s a show about what being human is about on a spiritual level (but not only). I love the interviewer – she is so smart, so sweet, I just feel we are interested in the exact same subjects. 
  • App you find most valuable: Well, I’m a big Shazam user! I love music and I find it amazing to be able to catch tracks anywhere anytime! 
  • Favorite food / favorite vegan treat: OMG! That’s too difficult!!! I’m definitely more of a savory person, so I would say something as simple as a good vegetable curry.

For this former project manager in London, realizing it was another story entirely. “Actually going from having this great idea to giving it life was far from easy. I usually have about a million ideas a second, but I can easily get overwhelmed when it comes to structuring them, and this time around, I was especially struggling with confidence. I’ve been so lucky to have met my friend and flatmate Laura, my now business partner, who is the exact opposite of me: she has an innate confidence in life and is so practical! I’ve learned a lot from her!” 

LAPP, the first brand of gourmet cocktail ice pops (100% natural: fruits & alcohol only), is the result of a well-fit tandem and their hard work. In their first year of business, they had about 10 stockists in their neighbourhood in London (mostly friends, or friends of friends). “We are now sold in about 750 retailers across France, Belgium, and the UK! It’s really crazy when I think of the beginning of the brand. We really do tend to forget how far we’ve come.” In 2016, they created Poptails by LAPP, ice pops inspired by favourite cocktails such as the Spritz or Mojito. In 2021, LAPP launched its new range of vegan ice cream called Popdream. Looking onward, the goal is simple: “For me, the most important thing is to get the best quality product at the best price. That’s not easy, but that’s really our aim. Something that tastes good, which is good for your health, and always with respect for the environment.”

FOLLOW CECILIA’S STORY​

For this former project manager in London, realizing it was another story entirely. “Actually going from having this great idea to giving it life was far from easy. I usually have about a million ideas a second, but I can easily get overwhelmed when it comes to structuring them, and this time around, I was especially struggling with confidence. I’ve been so lucky to have met my friend and flatmate Laura, my now business partner, who is the exact opposite of me: she has an innate confidence in life and is so practical! I’ve learned a lot from her!” 

LAPP, the first brand of gourmet cocktail ice pops (100% natural: fruits & alcohol only), is the result of a well-fit tandem and their hard work. In their first year of business, they had about 10 stockists in their neighbourhood in London (mostly friends, or friends of friends). “We are now sold in about 750 retailers across France, Belgium, and the UK! It’s really crazy when I think of the beginning of the brand. We really do tend to forget how far we’ve come.” In 2016, they created Poptails by LAPP, ice pops inspired by favourite cocktails such as the Spritz or Mojito. In 2021, LAPP launched its new range of vegan ice cream called Popdream. Looking onward, the goal is simple: “For me, the most important thing is to get the best quality product at the best price. That’s not easy, but that’s really our aim. Something that tastes good, which is good for your health, and always with respect for the environment.”

FOLLOW ERAN’S STORY​

Cecilia is one of the Food Heroes for 2022. See more inspiring and world-changing stories from Food Heroes here.