Ben & Jerry's vegan dairy-free ice cream
Ben & Jerry’s is introducing a new line of non-dairy frozen desserts in P.B. & Cookies, Coffee Caramel Fudge, Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Chunky Monkey flavors.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT. — Ben & Jerry’s, a subsidiary of Unilever, is introducing a new line of non-dairy frozen dessert. Made with almond milk and fair-trade, non-bioengineered ingredients, the four certified vegan varieties include P.B. & Cookies, Coffee Caramel Fudge, Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Chunky Monkey.

Kirsten Schimoler, Ben & Jerry's
Kirsten Schimoler, food scientist for Ben & Jerry’s

“Creating these new flavors with a non-dairy base composition that meets the high expectations of Ben & Jerry’s consumers was quite a challenge,” said Kirsten Schimoler, food scientist for Ben & Jerry’s. “We wanted to bring the same fun with all of the creamy, funky and chunky swirls plus the Ben & Jerry’s flavor excitement to our non-dairy fans, and we nailed it.”

The introduction follows an on-line petition on Change.org that attracted more than 28,000 signatures. The company said it spent nearly three years tasting samples and tweaking recipes to perfect the product.

“When developing desserts, you can feel a lot like Goldilocks,” Ms. Schimoler said. “One option may be too thin, the next may be too thick. Some melt too quickly, some too slowly. Some flavors are too strong, some are too bland. Coconut milk tastes too much like, well, coconut, and we wanted a blank canvas to let our fun flavors, chunks and swirls shine through…

Ben & Jerry's dairy free vegan ice cream
Ben & Jerry's said it spent nearly three years tasting samples and tweaking recipes to perfect the product.

“It took 50 or more versions of almond milk base mix to get to a point where we felt taste and texture were good enough to start adding chunks and swirls. There were versions that were so thick they looked like pudding and I couldn’t freeze or pump it; there were versions that were so firm it wouldn’t scoop.”

The new flavors are available in pints for a suggested retail price of $5.69.