Companiesfor consumer products / Food + Drink

Charlie Hall’s first job after getting a degree in finance from Miami University, was selling copiers in Chicago. His boss told him he had to make 50 cold calls a day to keep his job. After six months, Hall got fired. Two days after he got fired, Spring Valley, a bottle watered distribution company that had been one of his cold calls, offered him a job.

Coffee Emporium has been open since 1973, but current owners Tony Tausch and Eileen Schwab purchased the Hyde Park-based business in 1996. Since then, Tausch has expanded the company and now provides coffee for dozens of cafes around the area, as well as six of his own.
 

Two sisters have set out to create the perfect no-cream ice cream. They experimented with different bases and came out with some textures that were barely passable. But they kept at it, and with a dedication to using only natural ingredients and lots of time and effort, eventually, Phro*ZEN was born.

Cincinnati-born Copper Mountain Beverages developed and sells Hot2Go, a packaged latte that has real milk, is ready to heat and drink and tastes as good as more expensive coffee beverages.