In addition to “Chunky Monkey,” “Cherry Garcia,” “Hazed & Confused,” “Liz Lemon,” “Mango Mango,” and “White Russian” Ben & Jerry’s now adds “Satisfy My Bowl” to their flavorful assortment of desserts.
Named to parody Bob Marley’s hit song “Satisfy My Soul,” the ice cream treat adds to the long list of specially named flavors marketed by a company acclaimed for being a “socially conscious ice-cream maker.”
Due in stores on Sept. 15, the Marley treat was named to “pay tribute to a man who dedicated his life to bringing people together through music” and will mark the 30th anniversary of the release of the legendary track which was compiled on Marley’s best-selling “Legend” album.
“We’re celebrating our father’s legacy of bringing people together and using music to drive social change through a sweet partnership with Ben & Jerry’s,” Marley’s eldest daughter Cedella reportedly said.
First released on the “Kaya” album in 1978, the song debuted simultaneously with the launch of the ice cream company by two former hippies in Burlington, Vermont.
It was 1978 and the concept of healthy eating, conscious music, and clever marketing coincided. In England and Jamaica, Marley’s message and music exploded.
Ben & Jerry’s is reputed for advocating for some worthy causes. The company is acclaimed for supporting Farm Aid to independent farmers; increasing voter turnout among young people by partnering with Rock the Vote to offer Free Cone Day and registering more than 11,000 voters — the biggest one-day grass roots registration in Rock the Vote’s history.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared that it believed meat and milk from cloned animals was safe to eat, Ben and Jerry’s defied the decision by urging Americans to speak out against cloning. They sent a herd of cow-costumed individuals to Washington, D.C. for a protest “Truth or Clone-sequences” demonstration.
They were also prominent in the Occupy Wall Street campaign which rallied against increasing economic inequality in the United States, high unemployment, mortgage fraud, and corporate influence in American politics. Its board of directors issued a statement of solidarity and showed up in Zucotti Park on several occasions to scoop ice cream for Occupiers. As the campaign to label food products made with genetically modified organisms moved across the states, the company also stood with a growing consumer movement that advocated for transparency and “genetically modified” labeling legislation. The company boasts that all of their ingredients are fully non-GMO.
The new Marley venture adds to a long list of commercial projects associated with the Marley brand which includes a restaurant, coffee, children’s books, and a musical. There have also been a shoe line, water, and a number of concert series.
In a recent article in Speakeasy Magazine, the singer and entrepreneur who also launched her “Catch A Fire” clothing line — named in honor of her famous father’s recording – responded to a question about the perception of over-commercialization of the brand saying: “It’s a fine line because I don’t think lots of people know daddy was a very smart businessman. He started his own record label, built his own (recording) studio.”
She added that her iconic father also “started his own distribution company where he was pressing records.”
“We have to remember daddy was in the music business and it’s a business. At the same time, we keep the integrity of the man separate from the integrity of the musician,” she explained.
“He was very strict when it came to his business. He was the first person to print a Bob Marley T-shirt, let’s not get it twisted! He would wear his own T-shirt because that is the music business.”
Agreed through a partnership with the family’s One Love Foundation, the ice cream company will donate proceeds from the special-edition flavor to promote peace, love, and social equality on the island of Jamaica by energizing the creative skills of youths.
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream tribute to the king of reggae is a blend of caramel and cookie swirls with bananas topped off with “a chorus of chocolatey peace signs.”
But don’t rush to outlets to purchase the sweet treat. Unfortunately, sales are limited to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway.
A petition is being encouraged to urge Ben & Jerry’s to make the flavor available to American ice cream buyers.
“I think we can all agree that this is a big mistake, and so we need to take action,” an ice cream lover wrote at www.ipetitions.com
The blogger said “I am going to try to convince them (B&Js) to make it a global flavor.”
A number of individuals have also voiced the need for the Marley signature flavor to be made available for retail in the United States.
Catch you on the inside!
