Sometimes a food combination is so weird that you feel like you just have to try it — Pepsi (PEP) has a reputation for launching things like pizza with pepperoni cooked in a cola induction and a nutmeg-infused drink inspired by soccer star Lionel Messi.
Yum! Brands (YUM)-owned KFC recently brought back its famous Double Down: a “sandwich” in which the bread is swapped out for two pieces of fired chicken.
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Most of these inventions fizzle out, but occasionally one becomes popular or even beloved. When New York City-based ice cream company Van Leeuwen created a Kraft macaroni-and-cheese ice cream to sell at Walmart (WMT) in the spring of 2022, the flavor sold out in just a few days and quickly became a legend as people all over the U.S. started asking how they could “get that mac-and-cheese flavor” online.
Van Leeuwen Just Made Another Very Weird Flavor For Walmart
But the partnership with Walmart was exclusive and designed to woo shopppers over with something they will not be able to find anywhere else. The gimmick clearly worked and, one year later, the retail giant expanded the partnership and commissioned seven new Van Leeuwen flavors to sell at Walmart.
As first reported by fast food site Chewboom, these include relatively normal flavor combinations like Sweet Maple Cornbread, Blood Orange Poppy and Graham Cracker Crunch.
But the one that’s bound to attract the most attention is a flavor inspired by the Hidden Valley ranch dressing that’s also sold at Walmart.
Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream was developed to honor of National Ranch Day on March 10.
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“We’re so excited to debut this new series of flavors and unveil what is possibly our most surprising ice cream yet: Hidden Valley Ranch,” Ben Van Leeuwen, Van Leeuwen CEO and co-founder said in a statement. “We have done some creative collaborations and can’t wait for Walmart shoppers to try this new and exciting flavor along with our other Spring specials.”
The taste profile of Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream is meant to mimic the umami-rich flavor that ranch dressing is known for with ice cream’s sweetness. A Hidden Valley representative even advised pairing “scoops with crushed pretzels or potato chips for a perfect salty crunch.”
Other flavors that Van Leeuwen created for Walmart include Carrot Cake, Strawberry Shortcake and Limoncello Cake — a carton of the ice cream will sell for $4.98.
All the new flavors will hit the shelves at 3,500 Walmart stores across the country on March 20 and be available until May 28 or whenever the flavor sells out (if ranch is as popular as mac-and-cheese, that could be days.)
While Van Leeuwen gets the publicity and national exposure that a big-box retailer like Walmart can offer, the latter also benefits due to exclusivity and the public’s unyielding fascination for odd flavors. In the spring of 2022, Walgreens (WBA) started selling jelly beans in flavors such as beef taco and guacamole.
In the comments section of Van Leeuwen’s Instagram post on the ranch-flavored ice cream many were divided — some said “hell nah” and asked whether it was “April Fool’s already” while others called it “the best of both worlds” and something that would pair perfectly with the pizza ice cream Van Leeuwen launched as part of its flavor lineup last spring.
