Ben & Jerry’s Launches Two New Vegan to Dairy-Free Selection

Ben & Jerry’s fans are screaming for (dairy-free) ice cream: The beloved frozen treat company just announced its 20th vegan ice cream flavor, solidifying its position as one of the leading plant-based ice cream companies on the market. The two new dairy-free flavors are Non-Dairy Bananas Foster and the Non-Dairy Boom Chocolatta. In recent years, the company has worked to develop an extensive selection of vegan ice creams that include new innovative flavors as well as plant-based renditions of signature pints.

The two new vegan pints will be released under the company’s Core range, meaning there is a dense spoonable center that fills the middle of the entire pint. The Bananas Foster pint will be exclusive to the non-dairy line, featuring a blend of banana, cinnamon, almond pieces, and a salted caramel core. The Boom Chocolatta will consist of fudge flakes, gluten-free chocolate cookies, and a gluten-free chocolate cookie core.

“Our flavor gurus believe in creating concoctions for all,” Head of Innovation for Ben & Jerry’s Dena Wimette said.”We want everyone to be able to have some Ben & Jerry’s joy, including those who choose gluten-free. We know that people who choose non-dairy frozen desserts love variety. “They want to avoid dairy and still have amazing taste. These two new non-dairy flavors will satisfy their cravings for something different and delicious.”

Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy ice cream selection features two distinct non-dairy recipes. The plant-based ice cream either uses a sunflower butter base or an almond milk-based recipe. The company’s recent release closely follows its latest two non-dairy pint reveals, which includes the Mint Chocolate Chance that debuted in December.

With the two latest pints, Ben & Jerry’s also announced that its ice cream portfolio is almost 40 percent dairy-free. The company continues to push its plant-based development as consumers demand more non-dairy alternatives. The vegan ice cream market is projected to reach $805 million by 2027, according to Allied Market Research, and Ben & Jerry’s intends to capitalize on the unprecedented growth.

The company first entered the vegan ice cream market in 2016 when it debuted four almond milk-based flavors including the Coffee Caramel Fudge, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, PB & Cookies, and Chunky Monkey. Ben & Jerry’s initially focused on the almond milk base but transitioned to developing the allergen-friendly sunflower butter base that is featured in the company’s Mint Chocolate Cookie, Creme Brulee Cookie, and the new Banana Foster.

“We have come a long way in our non-dairy offerings, now being the number one producer of super-premium non-dairy desserts,” Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Guru Craig Koskiniemi told VegNews in December. “Increasingly, we’re hearing from our fans that they want more non-dairy options, and we want to provide both the flavors our fans love the most in the non-dairy format, as well as unique flavors you can only find in non-dairy.”

Ben & Jerry’s commitment to its vegan portfolio can be attributed to its parent company Unilever’s overarching goal to maximize its plant-based sector. In recent years, Unilever announced that it plans to shift its company platform to cater to the influx of plant-based consumers worldwide. The company’s CEO Alan Jope called vegan food an “inexorable” trend, noting that the company is “seeing in every single country in the world a shift towards more plant-based diets, even in emerging markets.”

The company just released a review of reports that recommends a plant-based diet, detailing the health and environmental benefits of vegan foods. Unilever’s report truly reflects the company’s recent actions to restructure its production chains, including the new non-dairy pints from Ben & Jerry’s. The company announced that it intends to spend $1.2 billion on plant-based foods by 2025 through all of its subsidiary brands.

Unilever-backed ice cream company Magnum is also moving forward with dairy-free options, including the Vegan Sea Salt Caramel Magnum. The ice cream product recently won PETA’s Best Vegan Ice Cream Award for 2021. The company claimed that the award would motivate future dairy-free development within the Magnum brand and Unilever products as a whole.