Choco Taco

2022 - 7 - 25

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Image courtesy of "Fox Business"

Klondike discontinues Choco Taco after nearly 4 decades on the ... (Fox Business)

Klondike confirmed that its popular taco-shaped ice cream treat, the Choco Taco, is being discontinued because other products the company offers have spiked ...

Taco Bell partnered with Klondike in February to bring back the Choco Taco to 20 of the fast food restaurant's stores for a limited time to celebrate Klondike's 100-year anniversary. Jack and Jill Ice Cream employee Alan Drazen came up with the idea of the Choco Taco in 1983. In a response to another Twitter user, Klondike wrote, "We know Choco Taco is a huge fan favorite and a top seller for our out-of-home business, so this is particularly painful.

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Image courtesy of "For The Win"

The internet mourned the loss of Choco Tacos after the dessert was ... (For The Win)

After nearly 40 years, Klondike has discontinued the Choco Taco and the internet went into mourning.

The internet was treated to the devastating news on Monday afternoon after reports circulated online that the popular summertime snack was no more. In speaking with People, a Klondike representative confirmed the discontinuation of the Choco Taco in July due to “an unprecedented spike in demand for different Klondike products over the past two years.” Today, the world lost a hero.

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Image courtesy of "The Takeout"

RIP, Choco Taco (The Takeout)

Rumblings of the Klondike product's demise has spread across social media.

Asked why the Choco Taco was going away, the rep replied diplomatically that the decision was made for a variety of reasons, as well as to make room for newer options. Social media rumors don’t always prove to be true, but in the case of the Choco Taco, this one is sadly based in fact. “The Choco Taco has been discontinued,” she said. This is the same reasoning we heard from Taco Bell when several beloved items were discontinued in an act of “menu streamlining” that aimed to clear space for fresh innovations. Klondike doesn’t refer to Choco Tacos as “ChocoTacos.” There’s a space between the words. So I was naturally skeptical this weekend when I noticed a big commotion surrounding an ice cream truck staple, the Choco Taco, manufactured by Klondike (a brand owned by Unilever). Twitter users were up in arms, claiming that the Choco Taco was being discontinued.

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

The Choco Taco is gone for good - CNN (CNN)

The Choco Taco, packaged ice cream in a taco-shaped cone, has been discontinued.

For many, the Choco Taco conjures long-ago memories of biting into a cold, sweet treat on a hot summer's day. Ice cream in a waffle cone with toppings is not all that innovative. The Choco Taco was born in the early 1980s, according to a 2016 article in Eater

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Image courtesy of "Newsweek"

Why Klondike's Choco Taco Has Been Discontinued (Newsweek)

In an article on food website Eater, columnist Gustavo Arellano says that the ice cream is a testament to how much Americans loved tacos, as "they were willing ...

It's an ice cream in the shape and form of a taco. That's how I got the idea." Drazen explained how he came up with the idea for the sweet treat, saying he was "on an expedition in Mexico and got separated from my party.

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Image courtesy of "Snopes.com"

Were Klondike's 'Choco Tacos' Discontinued? (Snopes.com)

This is, unfortunately, true. The Choco Taco has been discontinued. When we reached out to Unilever, the company that owns Klondike, a spokesperson confirmed to ...

That’s how I got the idea.” While the piece is worth reading in its entirety, we’ll leave you with this undoubtedly embellished quote from Alen Drazen about the company’s inspiration for inventing the Choco Taco: The Klondike Choco Taco has unfortunately been discontinued in both 1ct and 4ct pack sizes. Additionally, Klondike had dispelled these rumors just a few weeks earlier, writing that while the 4-packs had been discontinued, the single-serving products were still on offer: A necessary but unfortunate part of this process is that we sometimes must discontinue products, even a beloved item like Choco Taco. We know this may be very disappointing, but we hope you’ll try one of our other great products, including Klondike Cones, Shakes, Sandwiches, and of course, our signature Bar available nationwide. The spokesperson wrote:

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Image courtesy of "Billy Penn"

The Philadelphia history of the Choco Taco (RIP) (Billy Penn)

Some 40 years before Klondike decided to discontinue it, the childhood favorite frozen treat was likely invented in Philly.

Or maybe the news of its discontinuance is just a “New Coke”-style ploy by Klondike to boost popularity. Drazen was just 32 at the time, per the Eater history, and was inspired by the popularity of the Chi-Chi’s restaurant chain, which was busy popularizing the savory hard-shell taco Americans have come to know and love. Whatever other brand novelties might have joined it on Jack & Jill’s menu of offerings, one of them was the waffle shell folded around vanilla ice cream we’ve come to know and love. It’s only about 230 calories, per a photo of the nutrition facts, which helpfully note the “light ice cream” in a Choco Taco is less caloric than other “full-fat ice cream.” It’s more complex than an ice cream sandwich or even a Chipwich, because you can easily get ice cream, chocolate, shell, and nuts in one single mouthful. It’s imminently more chompable than a cone, since the waffle shell ensures your teeth won’t get cold shock on biting in.

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Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

Klondike Discontinues the Choco Taco (The New York Times)

A fixture of ice cream trucks and convenience stores is no more after Klondike said it would focus on other products.

Rumors had swirled throughout the year that the Choco Taco was no more as people reported being unable to find them on their local shelves. To many of the Choco Taco's fans, who mourned its loss en masse on social media on Monday, it tasted like summer or childhood or a beloved memory, even if they hadn’t had one in years. “Unfortunately, the Klondike Choco Taco has been discontinued,” one such response read.

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Image courtesy of "Eater"

The Choco Taco Is Officially Discontinued, Klondike Confirms (Eater)

After much online speculation and internet rumor, Klondike confirms the ice cream truck favorite is no more.

The Choco Taco was nearing its 40th year of existence, having been invented in Philadelphia by Alan Drazen, a former ice cream truck driver, in 1983. For some people, the Choco Taco — a sugar cone shaped like a taco and stuffed with ice cream — was synonymous with summer nostalgia. Speculation about the Choco Taco’s discontinuation began on social media this weekend as an image of a Choco Taco tombstone made the rounds online.

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Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Choco Tacos are gone for good, a victim of 'tough decisions' (The Washington Post)

That's cold comfort for fans of the Choco Taco, which featured vanilla ice cream in a sweet, taco-shaped shell that was dipped in milk chocolate and showered ...

And tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian also offered to be the Choco Taco’s white knight. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) jokingly — we assume — proposed a legislative fix to keep the U.S. supply going. The taco-shaped ice cream treat took off, partly because of its Chi-Chi’s-era trendiness — but also because its unusual shape optimized the ice-cream-and-toppings eating experience. So, we basically ate ourselves out of Choco Tacos? Unilever seemed prepared for the backlash, adding a scoop of apologia to its statement. But on Monday, its manufacturer announced it was discontinuing the product, citing pandemic-era challenges. “When you eat a sugar cone, you generally eat the nuts, chocolate and ice cream on the top, and then when you get to the cone, you’re [only] eating ice cream and cone,” Drazen told Eater. “With the Choco Taco you’re getting the ice cream, cone, nuts and chocolate with just about every bite.”

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Image courtesy of "USA TODAY"

No more Choco Taco: Klondike to discontinue ice cream treat (USA TODAY)

Klondike is discontinuing the Choco Taco, which took ice cream, chocolate, peanuts and a waffle cone and morphed them into the shape of a taco.

"With the Choco Taco you're getting the ice cream, cone, nuts and chocolate with just about every bite." "Of everything that has happened over the last few years, the news that the Choco Taco is no more has to be the hardest to hear," said one Twitter user who goes by the handle @DatGuy83. "When you eat a sugar cone, you generally eat the nuts, chocolate and ice cream on the top, and then when you get to the cone, you're (only) eating ice cream and cone," Drazen told Eater in 2016.

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Image courtesy of "NPR"

The Choco Taco is dead, but it will never be forgotten (NPR)

If you love a good Choco Taco, we've got some bad news. The quirky ice cream treat is being discontinued. You might still be able to get one from the ...

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Image courtesy of "Bon Appetit"

Klondike Discontinues the Choco Taco (Bon Appetit)

Those of us who love the Choco Taco will always remember our first. We tore open the crinkly metallic wrapper to reveal its thin and crunchy waffle cone ...

But due to other campers' nut allergies, every jar of Skippy was replaced with SunButter and the Choco Taco had to go. I’ve suffered through a Choco Taco embargo in the past. We tore open the crinkly metallic wrapper to reveal the thin and crunchy waffle cone shell coated inside with milk chocolate, its brain-freeze-inducing vanilla ice cream, and the thick and gloppy fudge top studded with peanut shards.

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Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

RIP, Choco Taco, a triumph of culinary kid logic (The Washington Post)

What if ice cream was tacos? Good question, good answer.

Kid You knew better than to ask deep questions about something as self-evident as the Choco Taco. What if ice cream was tacos? The Choco Taco was a mash-up that didn’t read as a gimmick. That kind of question makes perfect sense to a kid, and it must have been validating to think that some enlightened grown-ups at the food factory (or whatever) saw fit to answer it. While the kid version of you waits in line, let’s indulge in some painfully adult blah-blah about what made the Choco Taco so beloved. Because you don’t want anyone in front of you to get the last Choco Taco. That is, if they’re not already gone. The Choco Taco, meanwhile, is a chewy, chocolaty mess of peanuts, chocolate, ice cream and waffle cone.

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