Leftovers: Van Leeuwen scoops into Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream; Snoop Dogg brews a premium coffee brand


Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.

Van Leeuwen scoops into Hidden Valley Ranch

Ranch lovers can rejoice because their favorite condiment has made its way to dessert.

Premium ice cream brand Van Leeuwen debuted a new savory-sweet flavor in collaboration with the leading ranch brand, Clorox-owned Hidden Valley.

In a press release, the brand said the ice cream contains the dressing’s savory flavors of buttermilk and herbs with a touch of sweetness. To enhance the taste, Hidden Valley recommended topping the ice cream with crushed snacks, like potato chips or pretzels.

“We know that Hidden Valley Ranch goes with just about everything – pizza, carrots, French fries – but ice cream is a first for us,” Rachel Garrison, the brand’s associate director, said in a written statement.

The flavor is available for a limited time at 3,500 Walmart stores.

Ranch has grown significantly beyond its salad dressing roots. In 2019, Hidden Valley Ranch told AdAge its product is used as a condiment or dip for foods 70% of the time, and claimed that it had surpassed ketchup as the country’s favorite condiment. It is also widely used as a seasoning and cooking ingredient, and debuted a plant-based variety in 2021.

The flavor of the dressing has appeared in some surprising places before. Last year, popular hot sauce brand Truff launched Spicy Truffle Ranch, which sold out in minutes. In 2021, the brand debuted RanchNog, an eggnog beverage mix for the holidays.

Van Leeuwen has mined the world of savory foods for other creamy flavors. In 2021 it created ice cream with the flavor of Kraft Mac & Cheese. The unconventional flavor was so popular when it launched as an online exclusive that it made an appearance in Walmart freezers nationwide last summer. 

The ranch collaboration is only one of Van Leeuwen’s Walmart-exclusive flavors debuting this spring — the line also includes Sweet Maple Cornbread, Blood Orange Poppy, Carrot Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Graham Cracker Crunch and Limoncello Cake.

Chris Casey

 

Optional Caption

Courtesy of INDOxyz

 

The new best part of waking up: Snoop Dogg’s coffee shizzle in your bizzle 

Snoop Dogg is putting a leash on a substance that he says has fueled him since the early days of his recording career: Coffee.

The hip-hop mogul, who has become a legendary businessman, is getting into coffee with the launch of his new brand INDOxyz.

The premium lifestyle brand, which is a joint venture between Snoop and coffee entrepreneur Michael Riady, features Indonesian beans grown by farmers in collectives on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi. The beans are carefully selected, then shipped to a master roaster in Los Angeles. INDOxyz sells both whole bean coffee for home brewing, and ready-to-drink cold brew.

The brand, which has distinctive yellow packaging and celebrates entrepreneurs and innovators in its branding, will first be sold in stores in California. It will next go to Las Vegas, and then roll out nationwide. Both the beans and cold brew will also be available at the company’s online store.

“Indo is going to change the industry, I can promise you that,” Snoop Dogg said in a release about the coffee brand.

Although he was first famous for his music, Snoop has become well known for his business acumen. From cannabis — to which he has been consistently linked throughout his career — to esports, Snoop has invested in and developed several diverse business lines.

Recently, he’s done quite a bit in the food industry. In 2020, he partnered with and invested in Outstanding Foods, the maker of PigOut plant-based pork rinds. He launched Indoggo gin, made with celebrity brand Trusted Spirits, that features seven premium botanicals. And he introduced a California wine blend to the 19 Crimes brand later that year.

Last August, he debuted Snoop Loopz, a colorful cereal touting “more marshmallows.” In January, Post Consumer Brands announced a partnership with Broadus Foods — the CPG company owned by Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and rapper and businessman Master P — to produce and sell three cereal varieties under the Snoop Cereal brand starting this summer.

Premium coffee is a promising place for Snoop to make his next food venture. According to the National Coffee Association’s 2022 Fall Trends report, coffee is the nation’s most popular beverage. Two-thirds of consumers surveyed for the report said they had coffee the day before. Inflation and higher prices on everything from electricity to rent don’t impact the likelihood that consumers will buy coffee, though the study found that nearly six in 10 feel they are financially worse off than at the beginning of 2022.

Indonesian coffee is known for having a bold taste profile, and consumer reviews have been positive. Adding a more premium level to this coffee elevates it in consumers’ perspective.



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