Today we’d like to introduce you to Mallory Arnold.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
New to Alexandria, Minnesota since May 2025 is a new açaí smoothie bowl food truck, “Fruity Bowls!” Fruity Bowls a brand new Açaí Smoothie Bowl food truck local to Alexandria, MN.
These smoothie bowls are not only delicious but are also gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, artificial dye-free, and vegan! Fruity Bowls is dedicated to promoting health and wellness in a family-friendly environment where EVERYONE can come to enjoy good vibes and great food.
Fruity Bowls’ Mission: To provide Acai Bowls made from premium ingredients as a healthy food option and help foster community connections.
Fruity Bowls’ Vision: We strive to inspire communities to make healthier choices and bring people together by serving a diverse range of customers, engaging with local partners, and promoting wellness through food initiatives while providing a delicious food option.
Fruity Bowls’ owner is 27 year old Mallory Arnold. Mallory grew up on a farm in Appleton, MN and graduated high school from Morris, MN in 2016. She got a B.A in Communication Studies with minors in Music and Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2019. After college she worked Explore Alexandria Tourism until moving up to Bemidji, MN in 2020 to work and get her M.A. in Leadership and Innovation.
While in Bemidji, MN she worked in Marketing and Community Engagement. These jobs connected her to Tara Gesy, the owner of Adventure Bowls. Tara had posted that not only did she want to sell one of her Adventure Bowls trucks, but she wanted to help mentor and guide the new owner – specifically looking for a young entrepreneur that wanted to carry on her heart and passion! Mallory decided to take the leap and purchased the previous Adventure Bowls truck and rebranded it to become “Fruity Bowls!”
Fruity Bowls provides a delicious, nutritious, and vibrant Acai Bowls made from premium ingredients as a healthy food option throughout local communities and foster community connections.Growing up in rural South West Minnesota, Mallory knows the limited offerings available for healthy food options and also, limited places to gather and connect. She saw the need for this type of product in our area and was excited to bring a new business back to her hometown area!
Fruity Bowls will strive to inspire communities to make healthier choices and bring people together by serving a diverse range of customers, engaging with local partners, and promoting wellness through food initiatives while providing a delicious and fun food option!
Although based out of Alexandria, you can expect to find Fruity Bowls in the towns of Morris, Glenwood, Starbuck, Benson, Brandon, Parkers Prairie, Long Prairie, Melrose, Sauk Centre, Hancock, and Bemidji!
One final item to note is that Mallory has a great passion for mentorship and raising up young new leaders. She has hired 10 young female gals to work with her on her Fruity Team! Mallory is passionate about mentorship, leadership, events, community engagement, health and wellness, and of course her little kitties – Fruity Pebbles and Cheerio! She believes that success comes when we embrace our God given passions and uniqueness.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Yes! It has been a smooth road. The way I see it, when something is meant for you, the doors easily open. There were normal business challenges along the way – the most challenging was learning about and acquiring all the state and city licenses and permits. Acquiring a business loan from a bank was also very time consuming. But overall, I decided to open this business in March of 2025 and our opening day way May 24th, 2025 and we have been rollin’ ever since! It was a very fast transition but I feel like all the doors opened at the exact perfect timing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have worked in a WIDE variety of careers – which i strongly believes contributes to my success (we have sold nearly 4,000 bowls in our FIRST MONTH of being open)!!!
While in college I worked at Edward Jones Investments and also as a writing tutor. I also did an event planning internship at Carlos Creek Winery in Alexandria in 2018. After I graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Minnesota (with a B.A. in Communitcation Studies and minors in music and economics) I began working full-time at Explore Alexandria Tourism doing marketing and event mangement. After 9 months of working there, I got laid off due to covid.
I had just received a full scholarship to get my Master’s Degree from Luther Seminary but everything got moved to online. So then in 2020, I packed up my bags and moved to Bemidji, MN where I got my masters degree online while working full-time as the Director of Communications and New Connections for the Bemidji Covenant Church. I also continued my love for events by working as a Wedding Coordinator for the Bluebelle Event Venue on the side.
After I got my Master’s Degree, I shifted tracks and started doing marketing and community engagement for Bemidji Brewing! I was there for two years. While there I was coordinating food trucks which led to me meeting Tara, the owner of Adventure Bowls, and that’s how I ended up purchasing the (now) “Fruity Bowls” truck! I was tried of working for other people and ready to take charge of my own life. I also really wanted to be my own boss. I really am passionate about shifting the future of leadership to be fun and positive and help other young leaders work hard and take pride in what they do – I have worked under very unhealthy leadership and I am am bolding paving the way for a healthier future for the next generation.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am absolutely a risk taker!
I think my biggest risks I’ve taken was moving to Bemidji, MN during the covid pandemic to start a new life and career while getting my Master’s Degree.
I also felt like it was a risk when I purchased a home at 24 years old on my own – but it’s now serving as a wonderful renter property for young women in Bemidji!
Lastly, my biggest risk was quitting my job and starting Fruity Bowls. There was so much fear about the “what-ifs”, but my biggest fear ended up being – “What if I don’t try. What if I end up getting stuck in a meaningless 8-5 job and make no real impact with my life.”
My view on risk is that yes it’s scary, but the worst that can happen is you fail. If you fail, then you just try something else! Plus, you always learn something from failure and that’s part of the process. If you don’t take risks – you shouldn’t expect anything extraordinary to happen in your life.
Pricing:
- $14/bowl (one size only, never any upcharges)
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.fruitybowlsmn@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fruitybowlsmn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574461776221
- Other: @fruitybowlsmn on TikTok
