We’re pretty sure being a Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Guru is the best job in the world. They’re dessert visionaries. Ice cream wizards. Makers of magic. They’re the radical thinkers who design and test new Ben & Jerry’s flavors and come up with new and exciting ways to make our fans swoon, one spoonful at a time. We asked Flavor Guru Sarah Fidler what it’s like to have the world’s sweetest job, and she dug right in.
I had grown up eating Ben & Jerry's as a kid and was excited to be part of such a fun, joyful, high-quality company. Then I learned more about the social mission and became even more excited to be able to contribute to something so meaningful.
I'm a chocolate girl ... as long as there are some salty crunchy chunks or swirls involved. My favorite projects involve trying to replicate the experience of a favorite dessert. A few years ago, we launched dirt cake (in the US) and got to spend a lot of time making and tasting different versions of dirt cake. There were a lot of debates over what kind of pudding should be used, what the crumble should be like, and whether or not to include gummy worms.
We are always trying to create experiences which will delight our fans, so we listen to our Scoop Shop teams about what guests have been asking for, and we collect ideas from our Consumer Affairs team to get input directly from our fans. We also work with a wonderful Consumer Insights Team which tracks trends and consumer behaviors to help us understand what fans might not even know they want yet.
Yes. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Chocolate covered almonds. I can't stop myself from snacking on them.
The Flavor Gurus are always searching for new foods and flavors and sharing our experiences with each other. We eat a lot of sweets but also find inspiration from savory foods, beverages, and general food experiences. When we share these discoveries, we often find inspiration from each other.
Gummies have been a tough one to crack. As they are now, most gummies get really really hard when frozen. We'd love to be able to achieve the chewy, gummy texture in frozen ice cream.
That's a tough call, I'm glad this is just theoretical. I would choose swirls. We have some amazing crunchy swirls (pretzel, graham, chocolate cookie), our fluffy marshmallow, and indulgent brownie batter. With swirls like that, you can make a chunk-less flavor with dynamic textures and flavors.
Finding the balance between exciting and approachable can be challenging. Our team is always excited to make super wacky, out there flavors, but we want to make sure our fans will be equally excited to try anything we make.
Working as a team to unlock the fan experience. Figuring out how to re-create the s'mores experience in a frozen product or how to make a vegan ice cream taste like strawberry cheesecake is so satisfying and fun.
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Break out the balloons, it’s our birthday! Here’s a birthday challenge for you: Can you answer 10 trivia questions about your favorite ice cream makers? Give it a go!
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Free Cone Day is coming! Find out which flavor will satisfy your wildest desires (and make that long line totally worth the wait).
