A bigger future for Funky Fresh Spring Rolls arrives, in a partnership with Palermo
TrueMan McGee, the founder of Funky Fresh Spring Rolls, met Palermo's CEO Giacomo Fallucca on a panel of food-and-beverage entrepreneurs in 2017. Afterward, McGee said to himself, "I'm going to do business with him one day."
He was right.
Frozen-pizza maker Palermo Villa Inc. this week said it became majority partner in a new venture between the two companies that will distribute Funky Fresh's frozen rolls more widely. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The creation of Funky Villa means shoppers will be able to find the frozen spring rolls, which have a suggested retail price of $11.99 for a package of four, at more stores and food-service venues in the region and beyond.
"I believe the brand Funky Fresh Spring Rolls can be a household name in America, just like Lean Cuisine or Pizza Rolls or Hot Pockets," McGee said, "for people who want healthy ingredients in a crispy wrapper."
Shoppers now can find frozen Funky Fresh Spring Rolls — stuffed with wholesome fillings to be baked at home — at 20 grocers around metro Milwaukee, including Sendik's, Outpost Natural Foods and Festival Foods locations.
They're also sold at Sherman Phoenix on Milwaukee's north side, the site of Funky Fresh's restaurant and its production kitchen.
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McGee remains the sole owner of the restaurant and catering business.
He stayed in touch with Fallucca after the FaB Wisconsin event in 2017 where they met. McGee got advice on testing the market for his business and picked Fallucca's brain about frozen products. Fallucca would visit Sherman Phoenix while mentoring Sauce and Spice, the pizzeria that was one of the opening businesses there in late 2018.
"He’s just a great guy. I love his energy and his creativity. When we first met, we just really connected," Fallucca said of McGee, adding, "He’s developed a great product. What I love about it is his creativity in his variety of spring rolls."
McGee also has a "great presence and great brand name. Those are the things that attracted us to him," Fallucca said.
The frozen spring rolls easily can be scaled to greater quantities, Fallucca observed, making the brand a natural for growth. For its part, Palermo brings its experience distributing frozen pizza nationally. "We understand the supply chain, from ideation to commercialization," he said.
Funky Villa is the first such partnership for Palermo Villa Inc., and it's the first time the company is involved in a product other than pizza.
Although McGee said he always intended to branch out by selling the rolls frozen through grocers, the pandemic forced him to hurry those plans. His restaurant revenue dropped starkly because of COVID-19, but he began selling frozen rolls wholesale and through his restaurant, and they more than filled the gap.
"It helped us increase our revenue by 26% this year," McGee said.
"It was a perfect storm of being innovative at the right time," he added.
McGee in the pandemic also sold rolls to Palermo's employees in the Menomonee Valley. In March 2021, he said, the company pitched the idea of becoming partners in the Funky Fresh frozen line.
It was a chance to accelerate sales and distribution.
For now, production will remain at Funky Fresh's 800-square-foot kitchen at Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., where it makes 2,000 rolls a week.
Funky Fresh roll production ultimately will move to a larger site that's USDA-approved to process meat or will contract with a third-party producer with USDA approval.
"Once that happens, it's really going to take this to the next level." McGee said.
Funky Fresh then will be able to sell its most popular roll, Buffalo chicken with kale, as frozen rolls, along with other meat varieties.
The rolls sold frozen in stores now are all meatless — sweet potato with black bean, chickpea curry, Buffalo cauliflower and a brunch roll with vegan chorizo, hash browns and spinach. (The restaurant serves all varieties ready to eat; most of the 25 varieties cycle on and off the menu.)
McGee will be involved in Funky Villa marketing, sales and product development. The restaurant at Sherman Phoenix will remain open, he said.
"For me, it's important for businesses of color to be elevated and get to the next level, and show other minority-owned businesses there are ways to scale," McGee said. "There are people who want to help elevate and take our businesses to the next level." And owners can "have a seat at the table, as well," he said.
Contact dining critic Carol Deptolla at carol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Funky Fresh Spring Rolls expanding through partnership with Palermo
