15 Discontinued Ice Creams We May Never See Again

Whether ice cream is a summer afternoon treat or an after dinner must, we all have our favorites that make dessert extra special. As more companies expand their flavor selection to include tongue-in-cheek humor, moments of pop culture relevance, and even partnerships with other brands, some of their ice cream varieties have to be discontinued to make room for the next great thing. And some flavors (we see you, bubble gum) are just a little too niche to justify continued production — while others were always meant to be short-lived.

Many dozens of delicious picks have been removed from circulation, but there are a select few that it's hard to believe didn't find enough of a foothold to keep going. From iconic popsicles that many still associate with their '80s and '90s childhood to promotional flavors that quickly gained cult followings before petering out into extinction, here are some ice cream flavors that you might not ever see again.

Bubble gum may be a controversial flavor, but for a time, Bubble Gum Swirl ice pops (sometimes also called "Cotton Candy Swirl") were a treasured must that ice cream vendors made sure to keep stocked when making their summer afternoon trips around the neighborhood. With a vibrant blue and pink color palette swirled in a pattern that more closely resembled tiger stripes than candy stripes, this was easily one of the more recognizable frozen snack of its time, even if it only had a few devoted fans.

That said, the company recognizes what a strong impression these brightly hued treats left on its clientele, so Popsicle offers up a request form on its website to ascertain whether or not Bubble Gum Swirl (along with other discontinued favorites, like Candy Center Crunch and Vampire's Deadly Secret) is worth bringing back.

Imagine a red velvet cake flavored ice cream swirled with cream cheese frosting flavored ice cream, all scattered with chunks of real red velvet cake throughout. I have no idea how something that sounds so phenomenally delicious could ever be put on the chopping block, but Blue Bunny's too-quick run of Red Carpet Red Velvet Cake ice cream is not coming back to supermarket shelves ever again.

During a promotional campaign in which Blue Bunny partnered with Duff Goldman, the famed Food Network personality and proprietor of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, this cake-inspired ice cream was launched in 2011 to great fanfare and general appeal from ice cream fanatics and Goldman fans alike. The flavor was not widely available, however, having only been sold in a limited number of stores nationwide. The promotion only lasted about a year before Blue Bunny retired the flavor along with its other partnership flavors with Goldman, like I Do I Do Wedding Cake and Chocolate Lovers Triple Chocolate Cake. 

Dreyer's/Edy's introduced their line of frozen custards in 2015, but sadly, they only lasted on shelves for about a year before trickling into nonexistence. While the company has never offered an official statement regarding why this widely enjoyed and highly reviewed variation didn't stick around, Dreyer's/Edy's did seem to direct their focus toward their incredibly successful Slow Churned line, which now boasts 13 popular flavors from Mint Chocolate Chip to Double Fudge Brownie.

While the frozen custards were still in circulation, the Old Fashioned Vanilla and Chocolate Malt gained serious footholds in spite of some mild criticism that neither flavor was exactly a risk. Leaning into traditional dessert flavors, though, did seem to attract attention for a time. It's hard to say no to a Snickerdoodle frozen custard, after all, while Peanut Butter Pie and Salted Caramel Pretzel drew on Dreyer's/Edy's long history of adding chunks of sweets into their ice creams. The Mint Cookies 'N Cream frozen custard combined two longtime sellers, mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream, which sounds like a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, none of the above flavors are available in stores.

Another ice cream inspired by a classic homemade pie, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ice cream from Turkey Hill featured strawberry ice cream packed with swirls of strawberry and rhubarb alongside chunks of crumbly shortbread cookie. Originally available from 1996 to 2001, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ice cream was briefly considered for a return to Turkey Hill's lineup during their 2017 Ultimate Flavor Tournament. However, it was up against 31 other discontinued flavors in the Turkey Hill ice cream vault and eventually lost to Caramel Brownie Overload after 13 weeks of deliberation and thousands of customer votes. 

While you won't be able to find Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ice cream in stores anymore, the Turkey Hill Ice Cream Experience in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania does offer a "make your own flavor" workshop in their Taste Lab that will give you a shot at trying to recreate it. Pro tip: You may need to bring your own rhubarb!

While there are more than a few alcohol-inspired ice cream flavors available, Bailey's Irish Cream seems like such a natural dessert flavor that Häagen-Dazs' choice to discontinue it seems like a real head scratcher. The closest substitution is another, more recent Häagen-Dazs flavor: Irish Cream Brownie. The flavors of whiskey, coffee, and cocoa are all very much represented, just as they were in the original Baileys ice cream release, but with the addition of decadent chunks of real fudge brownie and swirls of chocolate sauce throughout. 

Bailey's Irish Cream wasn't the only Häagen-Dazs ice cream to be retired by the brand, though. Crème Brulée and Peanut Butter Salted Fudge were also removed from production after somewhat limited runs to make room for other Häagen-Dazs innovations such as their Black and White Cookie ice cream, Bourbon Vanilla Bean Truffle, and their selections of ice cream bars and pre-made cones. 

Talenti's easy to reuse clear plastic tubs that show off swirls of gelato layered with toppings and other treats have made them an eye-catching addition to the freezer section of many supermarkets for years. Their Oatmeal Raisin Cookie combo, however, just didn't seem to spark the interest some other Talenti creations did. Real chunks of oatmeal cookie and whole raisins were folded into a deliciously spiced gelato sweetened with brown sugar and molasses. First brought to market in 2015, it was then discontinued a few years later, and it now joins the ranks of treats we are not likely see on shelves again. 

Talenti keeps a running list of retired flavors on their website — there have been nearly 50 ice cream, gelato, and sorbet flavors they've discontinued. Ginger Matcha seems like one that wouldn't have had many fans, but Vanilla Chai and Tiramisu, seriously? Here's hoping those — along with Oatmeal Raisin Cookie ice cream — resurface someday.

First announced on Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's Instagram account in March of 2017, Supermoon was marketed as a nostalgic two-toned ice cream intended to remind eaters of dehydrated cereal marshmallows reminiscent of Lucky Charms' iconic, colorful shapes. 

"The yellow half tastes like the most marshmallowy marshmallow ever, and the blue side is like sweet and floral candied violet, which Jeni has always thought tastes like Lucky Charms marshmallows," read the social media release. "It's two takes on marshmallow in one ice cream: one familiar and one unexpected." Even today, commenters have left their requests on this initial introductory post for the ice cream brand to bring Supermoon back to stores.

Sadly, though, it looks like it isn't to be. Customer service responses from Jeni's encourage customers to continue letting them know what they should consider bringing out of discontinuation — but right now, the brand has no plans to resurface Supermoon.