GLOBAL March 2019
China's famous White Rabbit brand of sweets became a hit in Los Angeles, US recently when a US ice cream maker, Wanderlust Creamery launched a White Rabbit candy flavored ice cream variant.
White Rabbit’s Shanghai manufacturer Guan Sheng Yuan, which has been producing White Rabbit sweets since 1959, has asked its agent to investigate media (online) reports that an ice cream was being sold in Los Angeles using packaging similar to its sweets.
Wanderlust Creamery together with the food website Foodbeast, had launched a White Rabbit ice cream - using dissolved pieces of the sweets, including their edible rice paper wraps - as a Lunar New Year treat for its customers. The ice cream, sold using packaging which resembles the signature White Rabbit wrapping, was such a hit in Los Angeles that the company extended its sales period from its planned 9 days up to the end of March.
Jon-Patrick Lopez, Wanderlust's co-founder commented that there were about 13 pieces of White Rabbit candy in every scoop of the ice cream. Wanderlust sold 190 litres of White Rabbit ice cream from 1 to 20 February. On 24 February alone, Wanderlust sold its remaining 150 litres of White Rabbit ice cream, equivalent to nearly 1,000 scoops, within 8 hours. Demand was so overwhelming that Wanderlust ran out of White Rabbit candies.
Wanderlust has recently reached out to Guan Sheng Yuan (GSY), which earlier accused the ice cream parlour of intellectual property theft. White Rabbit is a household name in China, and GSY asserted that Wanderlust is not authorised to use the candy flavor in its product.
To appease the situation, Wanderlust representatives have reached out to GSY to discuss forming a mutually beneficial relationship with a long-term plan of introducing the White Rabbit candy to US consumers through its artisanal ice cream. In a statement, Wanderlust Creamery said, “White Rabbit candy-flavored ice cream encapsulates childhood reminiscence for many Asian Americans.”
White Rabbit’s Shanghai manufacturer Guan Sheng Yuan, which has been producing White Rabbit sweets since 1959, has asked its agent to investigate media (online) reports that an ice cream was being sold in Los Angeles using packaging similar to its sweets.
Wanderlust Creamery together with the food website Foodbeast, had launched a White Rabbit ice cream - using dissolved pieces of the sweets, including their edible rice paper wraps - as a Lunar New Year treat for its customers. The ice cream, sold using packaging which resembles the signature White Rabbit wrapping, was such a hit in Los Angeles that the company extended its sales period from its planned 9 days up to the end of March.
Jon-Patrick Lopez, Wanderlust's co-founder commented that there were about 13 pieces of White Rabbit candy in every scoop of the ice cream. Wanderlust sold 190 litres of White Rabbit ice cream from 1 to 20 February. On 24 February alone, Wanderlust sold its remaining 150 litres of White Rabbit ice cream, equivalent to nearly 1,000 scoops, within 8 hours. Demand was so overwhelming that Wanderlust ran out of White Rabbit candies.
Wanderlust has recently reached out to Guan Sheng Yuan (GSY), which earlier accused the ice cream parlour of intellectual property theft. White Rabbit is a household name in China, and GSY asserted that Wanderlust is not authorised to use the candy flavor in its product.
To appease the situation, Wanderlust representatives have reached out to GSY to discuss forming a mutually beneficial relationship with a long-term plan of introducing the White Rabbit candy to US consumers through its artisanal ice cream. In a statement, Wanderlust Creamery said, “White Rabbit candy-flavored ice cream encapsulates childhood reminiscence for many Asian Americans.”
