Choco Taco

Last updated
Choco Taco
2020-03-26 05 57 52 An unwrapped Choco Taco in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg
A Choco Taco, unwrapped
TypeChocolate
CourseDessert
Place of originUnited States
Region or statePennsylvania
Created byAlan Drazen
Invented1983;41 years ago (1983)
Serving temperatureCold
Main ingredientsIce cream, sugar
Food energy
(per 1 Choco Taco (83 g) serving)
250  kcal  (1047 kJ) [1]
Nutritional value
(per 1 Choco Taco (83 g) serving)
Protein 2g  g
Fat 12g  g
Carbohydrate 34g  g

Choco Taco was a Good Humor-Breyers ice cream novelty resembling a taco. It consisted of a disk of waffle cone material folded to resemble a hard taco shell, reduced-fat vanilla ice cream, artificially flavored fudge, peanuts, and a milk chocolate coating. [2] The Choco Taco was marketed under the Klondike brand as "The Original Ice Cream Taco". [3]

Contents

The Choco Taco was discontinued in 2022. [4]

History

1983–1999: Introduction and improvement

The Choco Taco was invented in Philadelphia in 1983 by Alan Drazen, a mobile food vendor manager for the Jack and Jill Ice Cream Company. [3] The product rolled out in 1984 and it became popular among mobile vending trucks and convenience stores. [3] [ failed verification ] [5] [ failed verification ] It made its first appearance in supermarkets nationwide when Good Humor-Breyers, who were manufacturing it in Richmond, Virginia, promoted it in 1996 as "America's coolest taco" at the Supermarket Industry Convention in Chicago.

In 1998, Unilever introduced the Choco Taco to Italy and United Kingdom under the name Winner Taco through its subsidiaries Algida and Walls. In 1999 it was introduced in Sweden through another subsidiary, GB Glace, under the same name. [6] [7] [8]

In 1999, the company improved the product, incorporating a shell which stayed crisper, and introduced new packaging. [9] The same year, the company introduced a Klondike Cookies & Cream Choco Taco, containing cookies and cream ice cream and covered with cookie pieces. [10] Choco Tacos were also sold at some Taco Bell restaurants. [11]

2022: Discontinuation and aftermath

Klondike discontinued the Choco Taco in July 2022. [4] According to an Associated Press fact check, Klondike discontinued the product due to a sharp increase in demand across its brands and to ensure the availability of the remainder of its products. [12] However, Klondike tweeted that "we are discussing next steps, including what to do with the last 912 (we counted) tacos at HQ. Stay tuned…" on July 28, 2022, [13] but have never followed up on this claim.

On July 25, 2022 Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian tweeted at Unilever, offering to buy the rights to the product. [14] When asked about this by Fortune , Ohanian confirmed that the offer was "very serious" but did not yet have any news to share. [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben & Jerry's</span> American ice cream company

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream parlor to a multinational brand over the course of a few decades. The company was sold in 2000 to the multinational conglomerate Unilever but operates as an independent subsidiary. Its present-day headquarters is in South Burlington, Vermont, with its factory in Waterbury, Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats</span> Marshmallow, usually on a wafer base, coated in chocolate

Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, also known as chocolate teacakes, are confections consisting of a biscuit base topped with marshmallow-like filling and then coated in a hard shell of chocolate. They were invented in Denmark in the 19th century under the name Flødeboller, and later also produced and distributed by Viau in Montreal as early as 1901. Numerous varieties exist, with regional variations in recipes. Some variants of these confections have previously been known in many countries by names comprising equivalents of the English word negro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drumstick (frozen dairy dessert)</span> Type of ice cream cone dessert

Drumstick is the brand name, owned by Froneri, a joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners, for a variety of frozen dessert-filled ice cream cones sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other countries. The original product was invented by I.C. Parker of the Drumstick Company of Fort Worth, Texas, in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klondike bar</span> Brand of square-shaped chocolate covered ice cream novelties

A Klondike bar is a Good Humor-Breyers ice cream novelty. The product is made with frozen dairy dessert and a chocolatey coating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky road (ice cream)</span> Dessert consisting of chocolate ice cream, nuts, and whole or diced marshmallows

Rocky road ice cream is a chocolate-flavored ice cream. Though there are variations from the original flavor, it traditionally comprises chocolate ice cream, nuts, and whole or diced marshmallows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Humor</span> Ice cream brand / frozen treat brand

Good Humor is a Good Humor-Breyers brand of ice cream started by Harry Burt in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, in the early 1920s with the Good Humor bar, a chocolate-coated ice cream bar on a stick sold from ice cream trucks and retail outlets. It was a fixture in American popular culture in the 1950s when the company operated up to 2,000 "sales cars".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popsicle (brand)</span> Brand of ice pops

Popsicle is a Good Humor-Breyers brand of ice pop consisting of flavored, colored ice on a stick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mint chocolate chip</span> Ice cream flavor

Mint chocolate chip is an ice cream flavor composed of mint ice cream with small chocolate chips. In some cases the liqueur crème de menthe is used to provide the mint flavor, but in most cases peppermint or spearmint flavoring is used. Food coloring is usually added to make it green, but it may be beige or white in "all natural" or "organic" varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnum (ice cream)</span> Brand of ice cream products

Magnum is a brand of ice cream and the company's namesake, originally developed and produced by Frisko in Aarhus, Denmark, a part of the British company Unilever. It is sold as part of the Heartbrand line of products, which is owned by Unilever in most countries and is available in sticks, tubs and bites. In Greece, the Magnum brand name has been owned by Nestlé since 2005–2006 following the acquisition of Delta Ice Cream, so the Unilever ice cream uses the name Magic.

Breyers is an American ice cream brand created in 1866 by William Breyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By the 1920s, the brand was producing more than one million gallons annually. It was sold to the National Dairy Products Corporation in 1926 and again in 1993 to Unilever, which merged it with Good Humor to form the Good Humor-Breyers division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entenmann's</span> American baked goods manufacturer

Entenmann's is an American company that manufactures baked goods and delivers them throughout the United States to supermarkets and other retailers for public sales. Often, they are known to have display cases at the end of store aisles. The company offers dessert, cup, loaf, and crumb cakes, and donuts, cookies, pies, cereal bars, muffins, Danish pastries, and among other baked goods, buns. In the past several years, they have added designer coffee flavors along with scented candles to their product line in an effort to broaden its appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Humor-Breyers</span> American ice cream division of Unilever

Good Humor-Breyers is the American ice cream division of Unilever and includes the formerly independent Good Humor, Breyers, Klondike, Popsicle, Dickie Dee and Sealtest brands. Based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey it was formed in 1993 after Unilever purchased the ice cream division of Kraft General Foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sealtest Dairy</span> American dairy products manufacturer

Sealtest Dairy is a Good Humor-Breyers brand for dairy products. Formerly a division of National Dairy Products Corporation of Delaware, it produced milk, cream, ice cream, and lemonade. The Sealtest brand was also later used by various companies in Canada under license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viennetta</span> Brand of ice cream dessert

Viennetta is a British brand of ice cream dessert made by Unilever and sold under the various Heartbrand brands around the world. The original Viennetta consists of several rippled layers of ice cream separated by thin layers of sprayed-on compound chocolate. It is available in many flavours, including vanilla and mint.

Mövenpick Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream of Swiss origin produced initially by Nestlé. Since 2016, Froneri - a joint venture between Nestlé and R&R Ice Cream - manufactures it.

Parlour is a brand of frozen dessert currently produced by Nestlé. Parlour comes in many different flavours and is available mainly in Canada. Originally produced by Sealtest Ice Cream Parlor in the United States as an ice cream, it no longer meets the legal definition of ice cream due to a change in the recipe; the high content of palm oils. Parlour now competes with bigger brands of ice cream such as: Chapman's, Breyers and others.

References

  1. ↑ "Klondike, Choco Taco, Artificially Flavored Vanilla Light* Ice Cream With A Chocolate Flavored Swirl In A Sugar Taco With Milk Chocolate Flavored Coating And Peanuts". Klondikebar.com. July 11, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ Galarza, Daniela (2016-10-26). "The Ultimate Ice Cream Glossary, From A to Z". Eater. Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Cohen, Jason (2016-08-26). "The Origins of the Choco Taco". Eater. Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  4. 1 2 Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (25 July 2022). "The Choco Taco is gone for good". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Tidbits". Time. 2005-04-12. Archived from the original on 7 Oct 2011. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  6. ↑ "Key word search: global dairy food trends". Dairy Foods. 1998. Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  7. ↑ "Winner print ad". Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  8. ↑ "Winner Taco Ad". Archived from the original on 2021-12-14.
  9. ↑ "Good Humor-Breyers Adds Products". Supermarket News. FindArticles. April 1999. Archived from the original on 2008-02-11.
  10. ↑ Marotta, Lori Anne (1999-03-01). "Good Humor-Breyers Offers an Array of Products". Frozen Food Age. AllBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  11. ↑ Doeff, Gail (March 1996). "Changing channels; as freezer cases fill, frozen dessert makers seek new growth avenues". Dairy Foods. FindArticles. Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  12. ↑ "Fake headline distorts reason that Choco Tacos were discontinued". Associated Press . 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Klondike. "I want to address the rumors: I'm really being discontinued, it's not a PR stunt. I knew you loved me, but not THIS much. While I reflect on this outpouring of support, we are discussing next steps, including what to do with the last 912 (we counted) tacos at HQ. Stay tuned…". Twitter . Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. ↑ @alexisohanian (July 25, 2022). "Dear @Unilever — I'd like to buy the rights to your Choco Taco and keep it from melting away from future generations' childhoods" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Davis, Wynne (July 26, 2022). "The Choco Taco is dead, but it will never be forgotten". NPR . Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Mui, Christine (July 26, 2022). "Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian says he's 'very serious' about his offer to save the Choco Taco". Fortune . Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.