Ice cream fans will be buzzing about Ben & Jerry’s latest never-before-seen flavour that hits freezers in time for Refugee Week; introducing Sunny Honey Home. Featuring creamy lemon flavour ice cream, gooey & sweet honey caramel swirls and lemon flavour cookies, it’s co-created with people from refugee backgrounds, and brings the home tastes of Morocco, Afghanistan, and Syria to our spoons.
What makes the flavour so special is the people who created it and their passion for the ingredients inside. Eight entrepreneurs with refugee backgrounds, together with their allies from TERN (The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network) and the migrant entrepreneur community, collaborated with Ben & Jerry’s Flavour Gurus and retail experts from Co-op. They worked as a team to create a never-before-seen ice cream to bring the tastes and cultures of their home countries to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream family.
The stand-out tub packaging was designed by Edwige Seri, a TERN graduate, strategic brand designer, surface pattern designer, researcher and artist. Her design was inspired by the landscape of Afghanistan, the flowers from Syria and the patterns and diversity of Morocco. The story behind the tub design brings together a family resting on an Afghanistan lakeside, enjoying a summer sunset. This summery tub is all about sharing (but we won’t judge you if you keep your serving all to yourself!).
One of the participants, Laila, said: “I have such wonderful memories with lemon from back home in Paktia, Afghanistan so I knew exactly how the Sunny Honey Home flavour would make me feel when we came up with it. The first time I tried the final product was emotional for me. People say when you make food with love it turns out nicer than the recipe and I think that is what happened with Sunny Honey Home.”
As part of the project, participants received mentoring and training to improve skills in product research & development, marketing and communication. They came together as a community and combined their skills and experience to leverage new ideas and create Sunny Honey Home. What’s even better: proceeds of the new flavour will help fund refugee led startup businesses, supporting the next generation to flourish.
Research from the International Rescue Committee shows that when people with refugee experiences access employment or self-employment that builds on their skillset, it helps them rebuild their lives, become more self-sufficient and better integrated into society. Meaningful work gives refugees access to social and professional networks, opportunities to practise language skills, generate an income to provide for themselves and their families and is also associated with positive mental health*.
Fred Kastner, co-founder of TERN said: “Right now, more than 100 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced from their homes— more than at any point in history. Refugees are often very entrepreneurial, and entrepreneurship can be a great springboard for them to rebuild their lives. What most excites us about Sunny Honey Home is the added value the team of creatives from our community brought to the project, whilst ensuring that the product has a lasting impact. We can’t wait to grab a tub of this delicious creation from the freezer.”
Elif Ulun Asci, Social Mission Programme Manager at Ben & Jerry’s said: “We’ve been working with TERN for many years now, to co-create entrepreneurship programmes for people with refugee backgrounds. Sunny Honey Home is the result of collaborating with eight incredibly talented entrepreneurs who shared the rich cultural heritage of their home countries to co-create a stand-out flavour, which I think is our most special yet. We’re excited to share the flavour, and the stories under the lid, with our fans.”
The new flavour with a mission that fans can dig their spoons into this Refugee Week:
- Sunny Honey Home: Creamy Lemon Flavour Ice Cream with Honey Caramel Swirls & Lemon Flavour Cookies, inspired by tastes of home in Syria, Morocco, and Afghanistan
