Two Cincinnati companies are joining forces on an only-in-Ohio ice cream flavor set for release the week of Aug. 16.
United Dairy Farmers has announced a limited-edition pint that includes flavors from three salty snacks. Among them: Grippo's Bar-B-Q potato chips. The convenience store chain calls it "a collaboration that's as unexpected as it is unmistakably Ohio."
The new flavor, called Fun Food Crunch, "captures the spirit of both companies in a way that's nostalgic, playful and uniquely Ohio," UDF Chief Executive Officer Michael Ahmed said in a news release from his company. It will be available at more than 40 UDF stores in the Columbus area; its other stores in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky; and at Kroger stores in and around Cincinnati.
What's in the UDF/Grippo's ice cream?
Fun
Food Crunch is described as a sweet-and-salty blend of ice cream, popcorn, pretzels and potato chips.
How do all those snacks come together?
It starts with buttered popcorn-flavored ice cream and a mix-in of chocolate-covered pretzel pieces. Here's where the Grippo's chips come in: Their barbecue spice is used to infuse a caramel sauce that's swirled through the whole concoction.
John Dourson, vice president of sales for Grippo Foods Inc., said in the UDF announcement that the collab is part of the snack-maker's identity as "the fun food company." Fun Food Crunch will be sold under UDF's Homemade Brand label.
Another classic Cincinnati collab
The combination of UDF and Grippo's on an out-of-the-ordinary ice cream flavor isn't the first collaboration out of Cincinnati to garner headlines.
In January 2025, Graeter's Ice Cream Co. and Skyline Chili created Skyline Spice, a vanilla ice cream with chili spices and oyster crackers. It returned in October and is still available by the pint through graeters.com.
Follow Dispatch dining reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Grippo's, UDF combine for a barbecue chip-infused ice cream flavor
