Many frozen desserts come with an ingredient list that reads like someone put the periodic table into a blender. Not Frönen. The non-dairy frozen dessert brand prides itself on delectable treats made from just a few real, recognizable ingredients. Coconut cream, honey and fruit — only real ingredients you know and trust. It’s made so simply that you can count the ingredients on one hand and hold your Frönen treat in the other.

But here's what's easy to miss: even short ingredient lists aren't automatically free of GMO risks. The Non-GMO Project maintains a High-Risk List of crops and ingredients most likely to come from genetically modified sources — honey and pineapple, two ingredients used in Frönen’s desserts, are on it. By getting Non-GMO Project Verified, Frönen has gone the extra mile to make sure every one of those real ingredients is the best, non-GMO version of itself.

Frönen president Brian McDermott sat down with us to talk about bees, Butterflies and the beauty of truly non-GMO ingredients.

Non-GMO Project: Frönen is known for short, clean ingredient lists. Why was Non-GMO Project Verification an important next step for the brand?

Brian McDermott: Our whole philosophy is that you don't need to sacrifice quality for indulgence. We use only real ingredients, no refined sugars, no additives, and nothing artificial or ultraprocessed. Just things people recognize. When you're operating that way, the quality and integrity of every single ingredient really matters.

Non-GMO Project verification was a natural extension of that commitment. Shoppers are reading labels more carefully than ever, and they deserve to know that the real foods on our label are exactly what they appear to be. Not GMO imposters. The Butterfly logo gives them that assurance.

Honey is central to what Frönen does — you've talked about it as both a functional ingredient and a premium sweetener. Were you surprised to learn it's considered high-risk from a GMO standpoint?

It's one of those things that catches people off guard, because honey feels so inherently natural. But, bees don't stay in one place. They forage all over, which means that any crops in the vicinity of the hive are a potential source of GMOs. For instance, genetically modified alfalfa is a big one because bees love those purple flowers!

That's why we take our sourcing seriously. Honey is the backbone of our products. Non-GMO Project verification means we can stand behind our products completely because we're sourcing from hives that aren't exposed to GMO crops. Bees pollinate about a third of everything we eat — so even if you don't eat honey, bees are essential contributors to many of your favorite foods.

Your new pineapple crème bar has only three ingredients: pineapple, coconut cream, honey. Two of the three ingredients are on the Non-GMO Project's High-Risk List! — and for a pretty striking reason.

Yes, there's a GMO pineapple on the market that was actually genetically engineered to have pink flesh. We're not interested in that. It’s not natural and not what Frönen stands for. It’s much more important to have natural ingredients than novel, flashy ones. 

We wouldn't change anything about our pineapple crème bar recipe, so we wanted to find a way to communicate to Frönen fans that our ingredients are both simple and non-GMO. Getting certified and being able to place the Butterfly on the front of our boxes was the perfect way to do that.

Frönen is non-dairy — a category with a lot of crossover with natural foods. But making non-dairy products naturally isn't as simple as it used to be, is it?

Some non-dairy products on the market today are built around animal-free dairy proteins produced using genetically modified microorganisms. Avoiding dairy shouldn't mean you have to consume GMOs and artificial ingredients.

If you don't eat dairy, whether that's by choice or necessity, you deserve a product that's clean and natural, not just technically dairy-free. We've also found that a lot of people who eat dairy love our products, too. Delicious food isn't just for one kind of customer. It’s for everybody.

Frönen started from a very personal place. Can you tell us how the brand came to be?

One of Frönen's founders, Jessy, was diagnosed with autoimmune disease and food allergies that restricted what she could eat. The hardest part for her was finding a clean option for her favorite food: ice cream. She started reading labels and noticed that the dairy-free options on the market were packed with refined sugar, additives and artificial ingredients. So she and her partner Erik went to work formulating frozen desserts using only real ingredients. Eventually, they landed on Erik’s grandmother’s recipes that were simple and indulgent — and thus Frönen was born! 

A lot of innovation and experimentation went into their work, and we continue to do so while staying true to the real ingredients and simple recipes that inspired Jessy and Erik in the first place. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve what’s already on the shelf and introduce new flavors that surprise and delight our fans. 

They created something that was genuinely delicious, made from real ingredients, and didn't ask anyone to choose between tasting good and feeling good. Jessy deserves to know that every ingredient on that label is exactly what it says it is, and so does everyone like her. That's what the Butterfly is for.

Browse flavors and find retailers on Frönen’s website, and follow them on social media.