UPDATE 9/14/22 | Rest In Peace, Choco Taco
Enjoy that big ice cream truck in the sky
Update 9/14/22: Choco Taco Lovers will have a chance to gain one of the last of the 912 ice cream treats by completing a digital scavenger hunt on Klondike's Instagram. On Wednesday 9/21/22, the first clue will be revealed. The first 100 people to fall all the way down the Instagram-clue-rabbit-hole to the final handle will be able to open the digital freezer, granting them Choco Taco access. WARNING: Klondike has not admitted to any plans to continue producing the Choco Taco at this time.
“We know this may be very disappointing."
On Monday, July 25th, Klondike announced the official discontinuation of the Choco Taco.
A staple of ice cream trucks, the ice cream treat is “shaped to look like a taco, with a round chocolate waffle-cone 'tortilla' shell and fudge rippled ice cream filling.” Invented in the ‘80’s — the decade of excess — it’s topped with peanuts and coated in milk chocolate.
Sure, it’s a novelty, but unlike other novelties — say, the infamous neon Spongebob popsicle with its stale bubblegum eyes — the Choco Taco was a revolution.
The ingenius taco cone keeps the ice cream from melting all over your hands, while keeping each biteconsistent, unlike with a traditional cone. With the beloved Choco Taco, there’s more time to truly savor your ice cream, and enjoy each bite of pure perfection. It’s also chocolate decadence at its finest. If you’re craving chocolate on a summer day, Good Humor’s competing Chocolate Éclair Bar just ain’t it.
Fans of the Choco Taco took to Twitter to grieve the loss of the summertime staple and curse out Klondike for their heinous mistake. The great betrayal comes from Klondike’s assertion that — somehow — the mighty Choco Taco was not living up to its new brothers and sisters.
"Over the past 2 years, we have experienced an unprecedented spike in demand across our portfolio and have had to make very tough decisions to ensure availability of our full portfolio nationwide," a Klondike Brand representative told CNN Business.
Klondike…baby….we didn’t know. We would’ve stepped in.
The latest generation of kids might just be more fond of Creamsicles or the Halo Top at home. Or maybe they just haven't gone to the crowded pool for the duration of the pandemic, so they haven't experienced the delights from their local ice cream truck.
But those of us who grew up on the treasured Chocos would’ve hunted down trucks, and invaded gas stations and grocery stores to show our support for the supreme dessert.
What would we do for a Klondike Bar? A LOT. Passionate fan campaigns have pushed executives to bring back everything from Brooklyn Nine-Nine to Planterz Cheez Balls.
The Klondike website offers sandwiches, cones, bars, and shakes, but nothing as iconic as the taco. It's that innovation that may've led to the downfall.
The Choco Taco is not shaped like any other frozen confection appearing on the side of an ice cream truck. Do the Choco Tacos get their own factory? After 2 years of an ice-cream-truck famine — undermined by low-cal pops delivered by Uber Eats — maybe the Choco Tacos got lonely in that big factory all by themselves.
Perhaps there’s no longer room for anything unique, even if it’s a masterpiece.
I believe the Choco Taco will return.
This could all be a stunt to reignite popularity for the former snacktime fave. When boxes start creeping into the thousands on Ebay, maybe Klondike will reappear to the haunts of Twitter to unveil The Return Of The King.
For now, we mourn. Covid seems neverending. Climate change gets worse and worse. But the death of the Choco Taco was swift, like the blade of a guillotine. And for this, I am grateful — we can wallow in our sadness, together.
