16 Handles new Oatly soft serve flavors include vegan Caramel Apple. | 16 Handles
New York’s popular frozen yogurt chain 16 Handles is serving up two new varieties of Oatly soft serve, themed for fall.
The exclusive Caramel Apple and Cinnamon Bun flavors are vegan and will be available at all 16 Handles stores over the next two months. The former was introduced on November 12, and the latter will be available from December 3.
“Our new flavors are inspired by classic holiday desserts, and we’re proud to keep these recipes dairy-free so that even more of our guests can enjoy these exclusive Oatly soft serve options this season,” says 16 Handles CEO and founder Solomon Choi.
“After seeing how much our guests enjoyed the Oatly soft serve flavors we launched this summer, we knew that we wanted to do something special for the holiday season,” he adds.
16 Handles (named after the cult 1984 comedy 16 Candles, a favorite of Choi’s) launched its first non-dairy option back in 2013 and has since produced several different soy, almond, cashew, and oat milk varieties of soft serve.
Since 2013, the self-serve chain has served a rotating selection of 28 different ice cream-style vegan flavors, four of which are available per store at any one time. The full range includes chocolate fudge sorbet, chocolate hazelnut truffle, cookie dough, and black raspberry.
Over June and July of this year, the company first introduced Oatly’s Iced Latte, Vanilla, Chai Tea, and Chocolate flavors at all 31 stores, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“We’ve been expanding our non-dairy offerings for years,” explained Choi. “So when the 16 Handles culinary team had the chance to work with our favorite oat milk brand, we jumped at the chance.”
“All four flavors are delicious, and I especially love the new Iced Latte soft serve our culinary teams worked on exclusively for this partnership,” he added.
The initial collaboration of 16 Handles and Oatly followed the stock market debut of the plant milk brand in May, where it raised $1.43 billion in its IPO. The company’s shares were initially priced at $17 each, increasing by 25 percent over the course of the day to $22.12.
“There’s no doubt that Oatly has been experiencing huge success globally, and in particular, the US market, which is why we are so excited to be able to bring one of their hardest-to-find product lines—Oatly soft serve—to our stores, just in time for summer,” said Choi.
“There’s a lot that 16 Handles and Oatly share—commitments to quality, flavor innovation, sustainability,” continued Choi. “It’s really an ideal collaboration.”
Oat milk, in general, is one of the best options for sustainability, surpassing almond, rice, coconut, and even soy. According to 16 Handles, the company offsets its carbon footprint through its partnership with Maryland-based nonprofit Trees for the Future.
This post was last modified on November 19, 2021 11:52 am