With the success of El Grito Taqueria I was looking to expand in the mobile vending realm. Ice cream is one of my favorite things so naturally I gravitated towards frozen treats. Like El Grito I looked inwards for creative direction, to my childhood and the upbringing my parents instilled. In my household I wasn’t called by my first name Josh, I was called Mijo (which in Spanish is a term of endearment meaning my son). Still to this day my father and grandmother call me Mijo and anyone visiting their houses are called the same (Mija for female).
So I had a name, MIJO Frozen Treats. After a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico I was overflowing with inspiration. That city is filled with deep, vibrant colors and amazing colonial architecture. I head back to LA a few times a year and am always looking at that city from a creative viewpoint. I stopped by my abuelitas house in East LA to eat tamales and talk about desserts she ate while growing up. Ice cream and Horchata were her favorite treats, so MIJOs first ice cream flavor was of course Horchata.
In addition to the art direction and designing the Ice cream push cart, I handled daily operations, all branding, marketing and project management, client/vendor communication, staffing, scheduling, finances, etc. Please see below for examples of my creative direction.
Visit www.mijofrozentreats.com
