Charles Leclerc, one of many quickest drivers in Method 1, seemed a tad sleepy. Regardless of being between races and time zones — a wet Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal final week and the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks after — he was up very early on a video name from Lake Como in Italy, to speak about his new enterprise enterprise: LEC, a low-calorie ice cream.
It’s not unusual for world-famous sports activities stars to launch model extensions that embody ventures like sneakers, perfumes and vogue traces, however ice cream?
Throw into the combination Scuderia Ferrari, a workforce with the best of racing pedigrees, and an F1 driver’s want to keep up power, endurance and a exact weight to compete on a few of the most demanding tracks on the earth at 200 miles per hour, and a candy deal with related to vegging on a settee seems to be an off-track transfer.
Mr. Leclerc, a teen favourite on the Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive” together with his boyish allure and tousled hair, laughed when requested in regards to the pivot.
“Look, my precedence stays to be on observe and the quickest,” he mentioned. A number of weeks in the past, Mr. Leclerc turned the primary Monegasque driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix in 93 years.
Method 1 drivers are topic to crushing bodily calls for. They will lose roughly 4 to 9 kilos of fluid, burn by 1,500 energy and lose as much as 5 p.c of their physique weight throughout races. With vitamin being such a essential a part of a driver’s life, Mr. Leclerc noticed house available in the market for low-calorie ice lotions appropriate for athletes. The legendary driver Ayrton Senna as soon as mentioned, “In the event you not go for a spot that exists, you’re not a racing driver.” Mr. Leclerc, a budding entrepreneur at 26, is making use of that knowledge to enterprise.
What units LEC aside from different ice cream manufacturers is its dedication to well being with out compromising on style. In keeping with the Unione Italiana Meals, an Italian affiliation representing meals product classes, the common tub of ice cream is round 200 energy per 100 grams. This makes LEC’s most calorie content material about 32 p.c decrease than the best-selling ice lotions on the Italian market. Usually, calorie discount is achieved by reducing fats and sugar. LEC recipes concentrate on lowering fats, which by no means exceeds 5.2 p.c.
LEC, out there in 5 flavors, begins at 335 energy for a bathtub (just below a pint) of vanilla. Mr. Leclerc, ever exacting, examined all of them. He mentioned the workforce behind the brand new enterprise labored by blind exams, making an attempt the opponents’ choices. Guaranteeing that LEC tastes like common ice cream was important to the method. He recalled being a boy watching Grand Prix races with a bathtub of ice cream.
“I needed to work on a enjoyable challenge,” he mentioned. “I really like ice cream however may eat much less as my observe obligations elevated. I needed to create one thing with diminished energy so I may eat it extra usually.”
His favourite taste is vanilla, or Vanillove on LEC containers. The names of different variations embody Salty Carammmel, Swirly Pistachi-oh!, Peanut Caramel Tango and Chocolate Crunch. A bathtub sells for 4.99 euros, or about $5.37.
Mr. Leclerc loved experimenting with the packaging, which has the brand’s melting typeface and coloring designed to pique curiosity among the many labels present in a grocery store’s gaudy deep-freeze containers.
“I’m a really artistic particular person,” he mentioned. (When the 2020 Method 1 season was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Leclerc taught himself to play the piano.)
In a daring first transfer underlining his aggressive mettle off the observe, LEC was launched in Milan, a metropolis the place gelato is a pillar of life inside a rustic mentioned to be its birthplace. LEC performs on the Italian verb “leccare,” which suggests to lick, and attracts again to his surname.
“I grew up in Italy,” Mr. Leclerc mentioned. “And, in fact, being a Ferrari driver, I’ve a particular hyperlink now.”
Mr. Leclerc partnered together with his associates Federico Grom and Guido Martinetti, founders of the Grom gelato chain, and his longtime supervisor, Nicolas Todt, to get LEC to the end line. It’s offered by Italian grocery store chains like Esselunga.
American followers might have to attend a bit of longer. In regard to distribution in america, he mentioned the workforce had acquired a number of curiosity and would think about worldwide releases subsequent.
“If it really works in Italy, there’s no motive we will’t strive it in different nations,” Mr. Leclerc mentioned.
