Ben & Jerry’s is rolling out its latest flavor production, the result of a sweet partnership with Ava DuVernay. Yes, “Queen Sugar” is no longer simply a show by Ava DuVernay, it may be a moniker befitting of the award-winning director, filmmaker and TV producer herself.
The Unilever brand on December 6 announced “Lights! Caramel! Action! directed by Ava DuVernay,” featuring vanilla ice cream with salted caramel swirls, graham cracker swirls and gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough. The flavor, in both ice cream and almond milk based non-dairy versions, will begin shipping to retail outlets across the United States in January.
Ava’s proceeds of Lights! Caramel! Action! will benefit her non-profit ARRAY Alliance. Founded in 2011 by DuVernay, it is a Peabody Award-winning multi-platform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change. The organization catalyzes its work through a quartet of mission-driven entities: the film distribution arm ARRAY Releasing, the content company ARRAY Filmworks, the programming and production hub ARRAY Creative Campus and the non-profit group ARRAY Alliance.
“Ice cream is a simple joy of life. A comfort food that I’ve turned to on many days – making sunny ones brighter and dark ones sweeter,” said DuVernay. “Partnering with Ben & Jerry’s has been a thrill ride. I had the opportunity to work with food scientists to create a flavor with all the ingredients that I personally love for a cause close to my heart. Beyond being downright delicious, proceeds from Lights! Caramel! Action! will help ARRAY Alliance further its non-profit mission of inclusion and belonging in the film and TV industries.”
The Lights! Caramel! Action! flavor is a full-time addition to Ben & Jerry’s line-up and will be sold across the USA at its franchised Scoop Shops as well as on shelves in pints at an MSRP of $6.49.
While the flavor is quite a mouthful, so is the intent from Ben & Jerry’s on the importance of this partnership. “Framing this up as a new flavor for the first black woman to be a featured partner on our pints doesn’t do Ava justice,” said Matthew McCarthy, chief executive officer of Burlington, Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s. “We are humbled by this partnership, impressed by her work sharing not only the struggle but the joy in the justice, and we are inspired by her commitment and vision.”
DuVernay is the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award as a director in any feature category. She is currently writing, directing and producing the narrative film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson’s bestseller “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.”
Winner of multiple Emmy, BAFTA, NAACP and Peabody Awards, DuVernay’s feature film directorial work includes the historical drama “Selma,” the criminal justice documentary “13th” and Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” which made her the highest grossing black woman director in American box office history.
