Ice cold: winter ice cream round-up

25-Feb-2019 - Last updated on 25-Feb-2019 at 12:03 GMT

Related tags Ice cream vegan Non-Dairy Desserts

Freezing temps across the US haven’t discouraged ice cream brands from expanding their portfolios. From boozy flavors to low-cal pops, here are the freshest launches within the US frozen dessert category.

Magnum Non-Dairy bars

Magnum introduced its first vegan option with two flavors of non-dairy ‘ice cream’ bars--Classic and Almond. They both feature the brand’s classic vanilla base and Belgian chocolate coating that provides the ‘Magnum crack’.

The chocolate is sourced from cocoa beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and the vanilla base is made with a blend of coconut oil and pea protein.

Leslie Miller, marketing director of ice cream at Unilever, said, "This week we're thrilled to bring our next-level chocolate to the vegan and dairy-free market. This is our first launch in plant-based indulgence and we can't wait to share with Magnum ice cream fans."

Häagen-Dazs Spirits Collection

A lineup of seven alcohol-infused products rolled out this month from Häagen-Dazs. It includes five ice cream flavors, a cookie square and a non-dairy option. Each one contains less than 0.5% alcohol.

The dairy ice cream flavors are Irish Cream Brownie, Rum Tres Leches, Bourbon Vanilla Bean Truffle, Stout Chocolate Pretzel Crunch and Bourbon Praline Pecan. The vegan ice cream is a Non-Dairy Amaretto Black Cherry Almond Toffee, and Irish Cream Cookie Squares also launched as a mini-sandwich style.

Rachel Jaiven, Häagen-Dazs brand manager said, "The Spirits Collection was expertly crafted to offer new, extraordinary ways to indulge. Each flavor is perfect to pair with your favorite cocktail, elevate a boozy float or simply enjoy on its own."

Halo Top Pops

Low-cal ice cream brand Halo Top Creamery is officially expanding beyond its classic pints and introducing Halo Top Pops, a collection of mini ice cream bars. The better-for-you treats will debut with four flavors--Strawberry Cheesecake, Mint Chip, Peanut Butter Swirl and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

The bars are not dipped in chocolate as is common with most stick desserts, and each Pop contains between 50-60 calories. They are individually wrapped and packaged six to a box.

Doug Bouton, president and COO of Halo Top, said, “We love ice cream in all forms and these pops seemed like the next logical place to take our brand. We tried to choose an ideal size for portion-control, but also made sure to pack six to a box so there are plenty to go around.”

Cumberland Farms Birthday Blast

To celebrate Cumberland Farms’ 80th birthday, the coffee and convenience retailer is introducing a family of ‘Birthday Blast’ products. Birthday Blast Premium Cookie Bites, Whoopie Pie, Premium Chocolate Bars and Ice Cream are all hitting the market.

All the products follow a ‘birthday theme’ with classic birthday flavors and sprinkles. Cumberland Farms retail locations are mainly concentrated in the Florida and the northeastern US.

Ari Haseotes, CEO of Cumberland Farms, said, "Though years have passed, we've maintained our commitment to always do right by our guests. Our new Birthday Blast treats are in celebration of our success due to their continuing loyalty, and we hope our guests share in our celebration by enjoying these delicious birthday celebration treats when they visit our stores."

Limited Edition Tasty pints

Tasty is upgrading from social media posts to product development with its first, limited edition ice cream launch. Tasty is known for creating short, instructive videos shared on social media platforms that show how to cook recipes of all kinds.

The first four flavors hit shelves this month and will not be restocked. Tasty plans to offer exclusively limited edition flavors of ice cream, with two more collections expected to launch in 2019. The first available now include Vanilla Galaxy Twist, Peanut Butter 'S'mores Smash, Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Crunch and White Chocolate Raspberry Lava Cake.

Talia Halperin, General Manager of Tasty Commerce, said, "Tasty's accessible lens on cooking and food has changed the way people are eating all across the world.”

“Our exclusively limited-edition ice cream gives us the chance to do what we do best – continue innovating in the kitchen and sharing our tastiest creations with consumers."

Tasty was created by BuzzFeed as “the world's largest social food network.” It partnered with Nestle to develop and distribute the ice cream.

Ben & Jerry’s vegan flavors

Leading pint producer Ben & Jerry’s is expanding its non-dairy offering with the addition of two new flavors. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Chocolate Caramel Cluster join the nine existing vegan pints this month.

Sarah Fidler, Ben & Jerry’s flavor guru, said, "Ever since we introduced Non-Dairy in 2016, our fans have been clamoring for more. The biggest challenge this time was creating a chocolate chip cookie dough flavor that stood up to the original. I think we nailed it."

Other vegan options from Ben & Jerry’s include Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Peanut Butter Half Baked and Cherry Garcia. The 11 flavors now represent nearly 25% of the company's full-time flavors.

So Delicious Oatmilk Frozen Desserts

So Delicious Dairy Free introduces a new line of ice cream alternatives to its frozen desserts portfolio with an oat-based product. The brand says its Oatmilk ‘ice cream’ is the first-to-market in the oat dessert category.

So Delicious announced the new collection on Instagram with three flavors--Peanut Butter & Raspberry, Oatmeal Cookie and Caramel Apple Crumble. Each one is certified gluten-free, vegan, non-dairy and non-GMO. So Delicious already has products with a base of coconut, cashew, almond and soy.

Jennifer Michuda, senior brand manager for So Delicious, said, "Oatmilk's creamy texture and neutral taste really allow the flavors to shine through. The new line of frozen desserts brings oatmilk out of the beverage aisle and into a new category of dairy-free delights.”