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Ben & Jerry’s is launching three vegan flavors – made from a base of sunflower butter.
The new options – Crème Brûlée Cookie, “Milk” & Cookies, and Mint Chocolate Cookie – are launching in US stores now, retailing between $4.48 – $5.99.
According to the ice-cream giant, it wants to be ‘the biggest and best purveyor of super-premium, non-dairy frozen desserts’.
‘Biggest trends’
“Plant-based eating is one of the biggest trends in the world and ice cream lovers everywhere have shouted for non-dairy/vegan options that rise to the levels of Ben & Jerry’s euphoric awesomeness,” said CEO Matthew McCarthy.
“I am over-the-moon excited that our Flavor Gurus have churned out something funky and chunky that is nothing short of spectacular.”
The company revealed that with all its new offerings, its vegan options now make up more than 25 percent of its flavor lineup.
Happy cows?
While the Unilever-owned brand is keen to woo vegan consumers, it recently found itself under scrutiny over its animal welfare claims – removing claims from its packaging that its ice-cream comes from ‘happy cows‘ after it was sued in 2018 by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), for ‘the deceptive labeling, marketing, and sale of its ice cream’.
The OCA’s suit said that despite Ben & Jerry’s ‘representations of humane sourcing and environmental responsibility’, the ingredients are ‘sourced from typical factory farms and some of the products contain traces of glyphosate, an environmentally harmful biocide’.
‘Victory for consumers’
“The removal of misleading ‘happy cow’ claims is a victory for consumers and an indication that Ben & Jerry’s can’t back up those claims,” said OCA International Director Ronnie Cummins.
“But this is just one small step toward more honest representation of the Ben & Jerry’s brand.
“OCA will continue, through our own ongoing litigation against Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever, to push for Ben & Jerry’s either to live up to its remaining marketing claims, or to remove all claims that have no basis in fact.”
