Cool Novelty Cups

Dairy Foods, Oct, 2001 by Donna Berry

Unique sundae cups are a huge hit on West Coast

Making their way into markets throughout Arizona, in Northern and Southern California, and in Las Vegas since February, California Cool Cups are a hit kids and those with a taste for adventure. Manufactured by Golden West Distributing, Upland, Calif., California Cool Cups ice cream sundaes are 8-oz cups of vanilla ice cream covered with tasty and often entertaining toppings. In fact, they are so jam-packed with toppings, that the cups are crowned with a 2-inch high clear dome lid to preserve quality and give consumers a view of what's inside. There's nothing else like it in the marketplace!

"We developed this line because kids love new and hip items," says Renee Read, sales and marketing manager. "We made ice cream cups with the most popular candies on the market. Kids go crazy over them."

There are 12 varieties of California Cool Cups, each with its own cool name and flavor combination. For example, Brain Freeze is vanilla ice cream topped with mini Gummi brains and electric blue sprinkles. Doggy Bones includes chocolate sandwich cookie bits and multi-colored candy doggy bones. Gummi Bear Mountain is piled high with chocolate-covered Gummi Bears. Pucker up for Sour Tower, which is Warheads candy on the ice cream peak and Tart N'Tiny's sprinkled around the edges.

For those who want something a bit more traditional, Classic Sundae has hard-shell chocolate and roasted peanuts. Cookie Dream is smothered with chocolate sandwich cookie bits and hard-shell chocolate, while Strawberry Mudslide is covered with sliced strawberries and hard-shell chocolate. Monster Mint breaks the vanilla ice cream rule by using mint ice cream topped with chocolate chips and hard-shell chocolate.

The cups are sold in retail stores, as well as various foodservice venues including schools and hospitals. Ice cream trucks and theme/amusement parks are also popular distribution channels. One cup has a suggested price of $1.25-$1.50.

Mark Samrock of Horizon West Distributing in Las Vegas says, "Cool Cups are absolutely incredible. Because of the quality of the product created by the manufacturer, they are in constant demand in the Las Vegas market."

The company plans to expand California Cool Cups nationally within the next few years through the help of distributors around the country.

"Sales have surpassed all of our expectations," says Read. "It's a wonderful, unique product that brings many smiles to kids and adults alike when they take the first bite."