Arias Austin didn’t build SlushyIcees like a startup chasing investors and instant scale. She built it like a South Florida hustle—lean, local, and centered on a product that makes sense in Miami heat.
The brand, formerly called SluttyIcees, is a family-owned dessert business built around colorful frozen Icees and what Austin calls “creative Iceé Bowls,” served across Miami. She launched it during the pandemic, not because the timing was right but because the intention was. “We wanted to create something of our own that brought joy to people while also creating a legacy for our family,” Austin says. “We saw an opportunity to build something positive and exciting for the community.” From the start, the vision was specific: a business that blended “creativity, culture, family, and entrepreneurship all in one.”
She launched with a single asset, an all-black trailer sourced from Orlando, and started showing up to local events, pop-ups, and weekend vending around the city. Early traction came the hard way: long days, a visible presence, and word of mouth built on “branding, customer experience, and social media marketing.” The operational side had to be learned on the fly. Permits, logistics, staffing, and event coordination—none of it was figured out in advance. It was figured out because it had to be. The business didn’t spread because of a campaign. It spread because people kept seeing it.
Financing stayed close to home. SlushyIcees was built on personal investment, family support, and revenue reinvested in the company as it came in. “We operated lean in the beginning and focused on growing organically,” Austin says. As the business grew, grants and business development opportunities followed, allowing the company to upgrade equipment and take on larger events.
The rebrand from SluttyIcees to SlushyIcees was the hardest stretch. The original name had built an audience—and closed doors. Venues that wouldn’t book it, opportunities that stalled before they started.
“As the company grew, the original name attracted attention and helped build brand recognition, but it also created challenges when pursuing larger opportunities,” Austin reflects.
Changing the name meant starting some conversations over. Getting through it, Austin says, required “staying adaptable, listening to feedback, networking, and remaining focused on the bigger vision.” What kept her there was simpler: she believed in what she was building. And the community, ultimately, followed the product rather than the name.
That belief shows in how she talks about the business now. “People connect with our story because we are genuinely family-oriented and community-driven,” she says. The goal, she’s clear about, is to “create an experience, not just sell Icees”—through the branding, the service, and community-facing work that extends into the neighborhoods SlushyIcees calls home.
Her one piece of advice: “Start before you feel completely ready.” It’s the same move she made in 2020, rolling a trailer she’d just sourced out to her first Miami pop-up with a name that hadn’t been tested yet. She figured it out from there. That, more than anything, is what SlushyIcees looks like.
