If you are a resident of the Landisville area, you are likely familiar with 13-year-old entrepreneur Bennett Dufrene, better known in the local community as Mr. Ice Cream Kid. With the help of his father, Bernie Dufrene, and a custom-made mobility scooter equipped with a cooler to store frozen treats, Bennett sells ice cream at local events and in area neighborhoods on hot summer days. Bennett was selected as a finalist in the Pitch the Pros celebrity judging contest at the Alibaba CoCreate manufacturing conference, which took place on Sept. 6 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.

During the conference, Bennett and Bernie delivered a 90-second pitch to a panel of celebrity judges, including Daymond John from "Shark Tank," Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor, Mawer Capital CEO Rudy Mawer, Jason Feifer of Entrepreneur magazine, Socialfly CEO and co-founder Courtney Spritzer and Carmine Denisco, co-founder of Inventors Launchpad. The pitch showcased Bennett and Bernie's plan to expand the Mr. Ice Cream brand by selling DelightBike, the custom-made scooter Bennett uses to sell ice cream, to aspiring young entrepreneurs.

Bennett began selling ice cream five years ago. At first, he used an ice cooler to store his products, but Bennett often had to throw away melted ice cream that sat in the cooler too long. Since traditional ice cream bikes were bulky and dangerous for a child to operate, Bernie partnered with a manufacturer to modify an electric mobility scooter with a lightweight cooler Bennett could drive in stadiums, nursing homes and hospitals, as well as at outdoor events, with ease. "Bennett wants to offer DelightBike to the world," Bernie said. "If people are interested in buying their own bike, we've worked with the manufacturer to produce and ship them." Buyers of the DelightBike will have an option to purchase a branded or unbranded version of the bike through the manufacturer.

Bernie first learned about the conference through his job, and he had already planned to attend the event to learn about international manufacturing. After seeing an advertisement for the Pitch the Pros event, Bernie and Bennett submitted an application to participate. Bennett was quickly selected as a finalist, and the event organizers asked if he would be able to bring his DelightBike to ride onstage and mingle with the audience after the conference. Although Bernie and Bennett have used a trailer to transport the bike to local events in the past, this was the first time they had to ship it to another state. The father-and-son duo had five days to build a crate and ship the DelightBike to Las Vegas in time for the event.

After the pitch, Bennett and Bernie spoke with Mawer, who gave them advice on potential upgrades for the DelightBike. During the trip, Bennett and his father also visited Grand Canyon National Park and saw exotic cars up close, and Bennett became an undefeated go-kart racer. "The go-karts went up to 45 miles per hour, and I won all three times," Bennett said, adding that he attributes his driving prowess to watching clips of professional racecar driver Max Verstappen.

For more information about Mr. Ice Cream Kid, visit https://mr-ice-cream-kid.ueniweb.com.