The One Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Flavor That Was A Total Failure
Ben & Jerry's is known for its vast repertoire of both permanent and limited edition flavors, however, its infamous Suger Plum flavor released in 1986 fell completely flat and only ever sold one pint.
This article is more than 2 years old
There’s nothing quite like picking up a fresh pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream from the grocery store to enjoy as a sweet treat after a meal. For many of us, we have never met a flavor we didn’t come to love. However, Ben & Jerry’s is known for making out-of-the-box unique flavors, and not every one of them meets the expectations of the public.
Almost every brand you can probably think of has a special release holiday product. From festive-smelling soaps and perfumes to a new latte flavor from your favorite cafe chain, getting in the spirit is easy to do. Ben & Jerry’s has launched unique holiday flavors over the years, and while many of them have been big hits, there is one flavor that did not quite meet the mark.
Ben & Jerry’s is known for its inclusive branding and unique fan-inspired flavors. There have been many flavors over the years released during the holiday season, such as their famous Seinfeld flavor. However, there is one flavor no one quite knows how it made it out of the testing room.
This Infamous Ben & Jerry’s flavor was named sugar plum, which was released back in 1986, alongside a sister flavor titled the nutcracker. The sugar plum ice cream had an overwhelming amount of negative reviews from customers, even those who have been fans for years. The flavor was inspired by plum-flavored ice cream infused with a caramel swirl.
This Ben & Jerry’s flavor gets its name from the classic Christmas movie, The Nutcracker. The company had reported that there is a special panel of taste testers behind every new creation that the brand releases. Even the taste testers agree that the Sugar Plum ice cream was the worst flavor to ever be released by the brand.
The individual who is in charge of taste testing Ben & Jerry’s creations is named Peter Lind. He is not alone in this opinion, as many other employees of Ben & Jerry’s agree. After almost 3 weeks of the flavor hitting the shelves, only a single pint was sold. Ever since then, the infamous ice cream brand has been skeptical of releasing a grape-flavored ice cream product.
Now, the brand is much wearier about holiday flavors that they released to the public. While there has not been a fiasco quite like this one since the 1980s, it is important for the brand to be able to estimate the number of pints to make before the holiday season arrives. This is so they can properly estimate sales, and make an appropriate quantity of pints for hungry customers.
What do you think about the Ben & Jerry’s holiday flavor flop? Would you be willing to try a scoop of plum ice cream? Look out for new Ben & Jerry’s holiday flavors hitting the shelves in supermarkets near you shortly, and ring in the holiday season with bold flavors.
