Ben & Jerry's And Ava DuVernay Team Up For A History-Making Flavor
Ben & Jerry's is known for being a history maker. As the company reports on its website, the brand has a tendency to enjoy its ice cream with a scoop of social advocacy. The Ben & Jerry's co-founders were famously arrested in 2016 after protesting for voting rights in Washington, D.C.
The ice cream company also kept environmentalists who were advocating against oil drilling in Alaska fed with the globe's biggest Baked Alaska dessert in 2005. And the brand revamped its "Chubby Hubby" flavor to "Hubby, Hubby" to celebrate Vermont legalizing same-sex marriage in 2009. Now, thanks to a collaboration with another famous trailblazer, Ben & Jerry's is once again whipping up a treat for the history books.
As The National Women's History Museum reports, Ava DuVernay, who is best known for her work on "When They See Us" and "Queen Sugar," was the first Black woman to be voted Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival. And now, the American box office's highest-earning Black female director is once again claiming another first. This time, she's working with Ben & Jerry's to make ice cream history.
Ava DuVernay's ice cream flavor is a Ben & Jerry's history maker
Called "Lights! Caramel! Action!," Ava DuVernay's Benny & Jerry's flavor is a vanilla ice cream that features caramel, graham crackers, and chocolate chip cookie dough (per a December 6 press release). However, its taste isn't what makes this collaborative ice cream extraordinary.
While Ben & Jerry's has featured Black men such as Colin Kaepernick (who appears on the "Change the Whirled" pint) on its packaging, its newest flavor marks the first time a Black woman has appeared on a Ben & Jerry's pint. However, DuVernay told People that she did not consider her place in frozen treat history an accomplishment. Instead, she reported that "because someone has closed the door and then opened it," having a Black woman appear on the brand's ice cream pints was "an action that needs to be taken."
Ice cream lovers will see dairy and non-dairy pints of "Lights! Caramel! Action!" in stores this January. According to Dairy Foods, the revolutionary flavor will be a permanent addition to the Ben & Jerry's line; the pints will sell for $6.49 each.