Say Adios to the Choco Taco, Klondike Plans To Discontinue Beloved Dessert
Klondike has decided that after decades on the market, it’s time to discontinue their famous Choco Taco as they prioritize their other offerings, including the new flavored vanilla cones.
The internet was devastated by the news, baffled by the idea of Klondike no longer selling one of their most popular items, according to Delish.
Turns out, the Choco Taco may have been more popular as nostalgia fuel than as an actual product that people buy. On their official website, Klondike explains their change in inventory as a result of “an unprecedented spike in demand across our portfolio” that has forced the company “to make very tough decisions to ensure availability of our full portfolio nationwide.”
The statement continues, “A necessary but unfortunate part of this process is that we sometimes must discontinue products, even a beloved item like Choco Taco. We know this may be very disappointing. We hope you’ll try our other delicious frozen treats, including Klondike Cones, Shakes, Sandwiches, and of course, our signature Bar available nationwide.”
It’s almost hard to believe the Choco Taco has fallen out of favor with consumers to the point that Klondike felt the need to discontinue it.
It’s a staple of ice cream trucks, bodegas and gas station convenience stores across the nation. Even Taco Bell had the good sense to stock up on Choco Tacos for a time, and resurrected the menu item as recently as earlier this year.
Looking at some of Klondike’s newer and supposedly more popular products, like the aforementioned vanilla cones, it’s difficult to imagine choosing some of Klondike’s other offerings over the ingenious simplicity of the Choco Taco.
No one explains it better than Choco Taco inventor Alan Drazen, who developed the sweet treat in 1983, when the company was still known as Jack and Jill Ice Cream, before parent company Unilever bought the company and renamed it Klondike, reports Fox Business.
Per CNN Business, which quotes an interview with Drazen published in Eater, “When you eat a sugar cone, you generally eat the nuts, chocolate, and ice cream on the top. With the Choco Taco you’re getting the ice cream, cone, nuts, and chocolate with just about every bite.”
This one adjustment resulted in the perfect ice cream truck fare.
Eating ice cream in taco form minimized the risk of dropping a cone or having a popsicle slide off the stick on a hot summer day. It was portable, delicious and easy to eat. However, CBS News reports that Klondike may be figuring out a way to keep Choco Tacos stocked in ice cream trucks nationwide, harkening back to the taco’s roots, where it was only available in trucks until 1993.
Predictably, the online discourse about this tragic news has been hilarious. Comedian Roy Wood Jr. reminded his followers that he was rooting against the Choco Taco as recently as a couple of years ago.
Besides Wood, however, the people have spoken and the people are absolutely devastated.
If there’s anything to learn from this situation, it’s this: appreciate the simple pleasures in life, because they could be gone before you know it. Also, never underestimate the internet’s ability to make light of a tragedy.
