The Ben & Jerry's Holiday Flavor That Was A Total Flop
For some, Christmas is about family. For others, it's about the spirit of giving, but for foodies, it's all about devouring holiday treats. Of course, every year devoted Christmas snackers are always eager to taste Hershey's iconic peppermint kisses, bite into Little Debbie's famous Christmas Tree Cakes, and sip on Starbucks' beloved holiday drinks. But although many brands' merry treats have become traditional holiday snacks, not every seasonal dessert has ended up on the nice list — just ask Ben & Jerry.
Yep, even the iconic ice cream brand known for producing fun flavors doesn't get it right every time. While Ben & Jerry's has launched fan-pleasing holiday ice creams in the past, like its Seinfield-inspired Festivus flavor, one of its previously released seasonal treats didn't make anyone's Christmas merry and bright. This is the story of the Ben & Jerry's holiday flavor that was such a flop that the company itself reports it's confused about how the ice cream even got out of testing.
Ben & Jerry's probably got coal for Christmas the year it released its Sugar Plum ice cream
In 1986, Ben & Jerry's reported it released two holiday flavors inspired by "The Nutcracker" for the Christmas season. One of these two treats, the Nutcracker Sweet, seems to have left a pretty neutral impact on holiday foodies. However, the brand states its other ballet-influenced ice cream received overwhelmingly negative reviews. We'll put it this way — does plum-flavored ice cream infused with caramel sound very appetizing to you? Named for the beautiful fairy that visits Clara on Christmas Eve, Ben & Jerry's Sugar Plum flavor tasted like anything but magic.
As the company reports, Peter Lind, the person behind taste testing and creating new flavors at Ben & Jerry's regards Sugar Plum as the worst flavor to ever come out of the ice cream brand. And according to Ben & Jerry's, everyone seems to agree with him. In the three weeks after it initially hit the dairy aisle, only a single Sugar Plum pint was sold. In fact, Thrillist reports that Sugar Plum was such a commercial failure for Ben & Jerry's that, due to the fruit's similar flavor profile to plum, it contributed to making the brand wary of selling grape ice cream. So even the Sugar Plum flavor is now officially gone, much like the ghost of Christmas past, its questionable taste continues to haunt Ben & Jerry's each holiday season.