There’s ice—the kind you wrestle out of a tray and pop all over your kitchen. There’s fancier ice—the cubes that clunk from your fridge or tumble crushed in a cup. Then there’s cool ice—crystal-clear, slow-melting ice “spheres” that bob alone in a cocktail like a floating work of art.

That cool “craft ice” is the kind produced by Lux Ice USA to “elevate beverage experiences” for consumers, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and the hospitality industry. The solid, weighty round orbs melt slower than traditional ice cubes, keeping drinks cold without quickly diluting them. (Something any single-malt Scotch drinker would surely appreciate.)

Founded in 2020, Lux Ice relocated to Dallas-Fort Worth earlier this year, leaving behind its roots in Philadelphia-adjacent Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A $4 million Series A funding raise helped fuel its move to new 50,000-square-foot HQ and manufacturing facilities in suburban Flower Mound, the company said.

Chillin’ in North Texas with a new CEO

Lux Ice USA CEO Michael Crouse [Photo: Lux Ice]

Now that Lux Ice is chillin’ in North Texas, it’s dropped more big news: Earlier this week, the company announced it had appointed food and beverage industry veteran Michael Crouse as its new CEO. 

Crouse replaces founder and CEO Shawn Kilcoyne, who remains as chairman of the company.

Crouse—described as “the coolest CEO” in North Texas by Lux’s PR team—brings more than three decades of commercial and general management experience in both the retail and foodservice sectors. His previous roles included President of U.S. Foodservice at Kraft Heinz and VP/GM of U.S. Supermarkets at the Frito Lay division of PepsiCo.

Most recently, Crouse was the head of U.S. Prepared Foodservice at Tyson Foods.

Expanding its craft ice across foodservice channels

[Photo: Lux Ice USA]

“We’re very excited to have a leader of Michael’s caliber join Lux Ice to lead us in the next chapter of our growth story,” Lux Founder and Chairman Shawn Kilcoyne said in a statement. “As we expand our premium craft ice business from retail into restaurants and across other foodservice channels, Michael is ideally suited to rapidly build our distribution and customer partnerships.”

Lux Ice managing partner Mark Rogers warmed to the appointment with alacrity.

“Michael embraces our core values and has quickly demonstrated a passion for our vision to elevate every beverage experience, and to be a company that positively impacts our community,” Rogers said.

Crouse sees coming to Lux Ice USA as a big opportunity.

“It’s incredible how far the company has come in such a short period of time,” Crouwe said in a statement, “and I’m honored to work with such a talented and diverse group of team members that we have here at Lux.”

Available in North Texas soon

[Photo: Lux Ice USA]

While Lux’s craft ice isn’t available in Texas yet, the new CEO expects it be sold in the state before Thanksgiving, according to the Dallas Morning News. Lux Ice is currently available in 3,000 to 4,000 stores, primarily on the East Coast, reports PHL Inno—which quotes Crouse as saying he hopes to increase his employee head count from 40 to “well over 100 in the near future.”

Crouse and Kilcoyne said sales have grown by roughly a factor of 10 in the past year, PHL Ino added.

Lance Murray and Sandra Engelland contributed to this report.

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