Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -- (Grassroots Newswire) - Are you an ice cream aficionado? Do you fancy yourself a flavor innovator? Then Ben & Jerry's wants you to do them a "flavor!" Ben & Jerry's announces the "Do Us a Flavor Contest" - an opportunity to become an honorary Ben & Jerry's Flavor Guru and create an original, mouth-watering ice cream flavor.

"We hear suggestions from our customers all the time about different flavors we should be offering, now everyone has an opportunity to make some history at Ben & Jerry's," said Sean Greenwood, PR Poobah for Ben & Jerry's.

Ben & Jerry's Flavor Gurus are a bunch of cool guys with even cooler jobs. They boldly go where no ice cream makers have gone before. From Cointreau(R) to Sambuca, sweet potatoes to sugar plums, no ingredient goes unconsidered for the next lip-smacking, completely unexpected Ben & Jerry's flavor. They mix, blend, chop, whip, puree and swirl until they come up with an unrivaled pint of pure ice cream indulgence.

"We create and taste ice cream flavors all day long, so we thought it would be nice to take a break and let someone else do our jobs for a while," said Arnold Carbone, Conductor of Bizarre & D and Chief Flavor Guru at Ben & Jerry's. "We're looking for people to let loose and get funky in creating the next chunky ice cream. We can't wait to taste the results."

Ready to create the next Chunky Monkey(R), Chubby Hubby(R) or Phish Food(R)? All it takes is some inspiration, imagination and maybe a little discombobulation. Just visit www.benjerry.com to get cooking. First, pick an ice cream base like brownie batter, white chocolate or sweet cream, or something we've never thought of! Then go wild, adding in lots of chunks and swirls. And don't forget to give your concoction a catchy name. You can even submit a photo of your creation or one of yourself with your flavor masterpiece.

If you need a little help getting started, try the online Flavor Generator to get your creative juices flowing. Flavor entries will be judged on creativity (40 percent), flavor profile (40 percent) and relevance to Ben & Jerry's brand (20 percent).

Five finalists will be invited--four from across the United States and one from Canada--to a Flavor Finals Event to be held at Ben & Jerry's in Vermont. The showdown will be judged by Ben & Jerry's Flavor Gurus as well as a panel of guest judges. The grand prize winner will win an ice cream party for friends and family featuring their winning flavor, plus some of their fabulous flavor to take home. But everyone who enters is a winner! All contest entrants will receive Ben & Jerry's scoop shop coupons so they can enjoy a tempting treat while they wait to hear if they're a flavor finalist.

Contest timing:

March 8 - July 31, 2006 - Submit contest entries

September 8, 2006 - Announce Five flavor finalists

October 2006 - Flavor Finals Event at Ben & Jerry's; winning flavor creator announced

November 2006 - Ice cream party for winning flavor creator

In addition to all of Ben & Jerry's euphoric flavors, there have been a few famous flops along the way. Here are a few flavors whose fates were debatable from the get-go. Or in other words... don't go there!

Sugar Plum - Plum Ice Cream with a Caramel Swirl

Peanuts! Popcorn! - Caramel Ice Cream with White Fudge Covered Caramel Popcorn, Toffee-Coated Peanuts & a Caramel Swirl

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich - Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Bits & a Strawberry Jelly Swirl

Chips and Dip- sour cream onion ice cream with potato chips - one bite was all it took to kill it.

Licorice - a good way to lose your fillings

Lemon Peppermint Carob Chip -We can't remember the recipe ....but the name pretty much says it all.

Pepperoni Pizza with Anchovy Swirl - need we say more?

All "Do Us a Flavor Contest" submissions will become the property of Ben & Jerry's. For complete official rules and how to enter, visit www.benjerry.com.

About Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super-premium ice cream, sorbets and ice cream novelties, using dairy products from a Vermont dairy cooperative and high-quality ingredients. The company is committed to using milk and cream from cows that have not been treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH, and states its position on rBGH on its labels. Ben and Jerry's products are distributed nationwide and in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops, restaurants and other venues.

Ben & Jerry's, a wholly-owned autonomous subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part mission statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. Ben & Jerry's contributes a minimum of $1.1 million annually through corporate philanthropy that is primarily employee led. Contributions made via the Ben & Jerry's Foundation in 2001 totaled over $1.4 million. Additionally, the company makes significant product donations to community groups and nonprofits both in Vermont and across the nation. The purpose of Ben & Jerry's philanthropy is to support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice, environmental restoration and peace through understanding, and to support our Vermont communities. For the full scoop on all Ben & Jerry's fabulous flavors, visit www.benjerry.com.