The color of ice cream plays a role in its enjoyment, with bold hues like pink strawberry or creamy pistachio enhancing flavor expectations and appeal, and OPAQUE is a limited-edition jet-black ice cream that challenges perception. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams teamed up with artist Cj Hendry for this exploration of color, flavor, art and consumption, and the experience includes a New York City pop-up.
The all-black ice cream itself is made with black cocoa, espresso fudge, and balsamic cherry, and strips away the vibrant color people expect to encounter with a scoop of the cooling, creamy frozen dessert.
At the immersive pop-up shop that's coming to NYC in mid-August, visitors will encounter Jeni's signature Buttercrisp Waffle Cones turned black, as well as seven new original works of art created exclusively for the collaboration.
What's Driving This Trend
- Color-influenced Gastronomy
- Innovative collaborations like Jeni's and Cj Hendry's OPAQUE highlight opportunities to explore how color influences consumer perceptions and enjoyment in food.
- Pop-up Experience Marketing
- The use of immersive pop-up shops serves as a compelling strategy to create buzz and engage consumers with limited-edition products in unique ways.
- Art-infused Culinary Creations
- Combining art and food, as seen in the OPAQUE collaboration, introduces a novel medium for artists and chefs to challenge consumer expectations and redefine culinary experiences.
- Darkness-driven Desserts
- OPAQUE's jet-black ice cream emphasizes the potential to attract adventurous consumers by incorporating unexpected colors into traditional foods.
Who This Affects Most
- Frozen Dessert Industry
- OPAQUE exemplifies the potential for innovation within the frozen dessert market by using unconventional ingredients and aesthetic designs to differentiate products.
- Art-driven Marketing Industry
- Collaborations between artists and brands, like Jeni's and Cj Hendry, showcase a growing niche where aesthetic appeal and storytelling captivate customers.
- Experiential Retail Industry
- The trend of immersive experiences and pop-ups seen with OPAQUE highlights a shift toward creating memorable in-person engagements to drive brand loyalty and sales.
