Friday, March 10, was National Ranch Day, celebrating the tangy, savory delights of ranch dressing. It was marked by an announcement about one of the biggest names associated with ranch, Hidden Valley. Brooklyn ice cream maker Van Leeuwen announced that it had partnered with the company to make Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream.
In Van Leeuwen’s press release, the co-founder and CEO of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Ben Van Leeuwen, said, “We’re so excited to debut this new series of flavors and unveil what is possibly our most surprising ice cream yet: Hidden Valley Ranch.”
“We have done some creative collaborations,” Van Leeuwen continued, “and can’t wait for Walmart shoppers to try this new and exciting flavor along with our other Spring specials.”
In the same release, Hidden Valley Ranch associate director Rachel Garrison said in part, “We know that Hidden Valley Ranch goes with just about everything–pizza, carrots, French fries–but ice cream is a first for us.”
The combination of ranch flavoring and ice cream is a first for many, so the good news is that along with the Hidden Valley ice cream going out to Walmarts across the country, there will be other Van Leeuwen-made choices with perhaps more conventional flavor profiles:
- Sweet Maple Cornbread
- Blood Orange Chocolate Chip
- Carrot Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Honey Graham Cracker
- Limoncello Cake
While some might find the novel combo fun and interesting, social media reactions indicate others were in a state of cognitive dissonance.
They promised us jetpacks and cloud cities and instead we got Ranch-flavored ice cream. https://t.co/0DSllFZYGu
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) March 10, 2023
Everyday we stray further from God’s light. https://t.co/c6QAggyTbW
— Brian P. Hickey (@BrianPHickey) March 10, 2023
do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to The Hague https://t.co/Irdzv4rP4V
— Peter Twinklage (@PeterTwinklage) March 10, 2023
For the brave consumer willing to suspend judgment and see what all the fuss is about, Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream and Van Leeuwen’s six other spring flavors will be available at $5 a unit at 3,500 Walmart beginning March 20. Hidden Valley, in particular, will only be sold between March 20 and May 28.
