The estate of the late pop artist Keith Haring collaborated with the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Company to release a new limited-edition flavor inspired by Haring’s work during Pride Month, with a portion of proceeds going to support the LGBTQ+ community in New York City.
Haring’s ice cream flavor, called “passion fruit berry pop”, is a blend of blue raspberry and yellow passion fruit with swirls of strawberry jam, inspired by Haring’s colorful work. Starting June 1, the new flavor will be available by the scoop and pint at the brand’s stores, as well as pints on sale at select New York-area grocery stores. The pints will come in cartons covered with the late artist’s dancing figures, and Van Leeuwen will also launch a range of special edition products in conjunction with the Keith Haring Foundation.
“We’re big fans of Keith Haring and this is the first flavor we’ve ever made that’s inspired by art,” Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and chief executive of the ice cream company, who started as an ice cream truck parked in New York’s Soho neighborhood, said in a statement. “It was so cool to design an ice cream flavor around Haring’s artwork and imagine what it would look and taste like.”
Gil Vazquez, director of the Keith Haring Foundation and close friend of Haring’s before his death in 1990, said the collaboration with Van Leeuween was a good fit given the late artist’s legacy.
“Soho in New York was Keith Haring’s home and the streets of New York were his canvas – it’s so natural to work with a brand that got its start on the streets of Soho,” Vazquez said in a statement.
Van Leeuwen will donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of pints at the brand’s ice cream parlors in June to the Center, which is based in Greenwich Village, has long served the LGBTQ+ community in New York City and has a bathroom whose walls Haring painted with elaborate murals. The Haring-inspired ice cream will be available until August 31 or while supplies last.
The premium ice cream is the latest in a long line of brands to publish collabs with the Keith Haring Foundation, which has controlled the artist’s imagery since his death from AIDS-related complications in 1990. The late artist’s creations have adorned Igloo coolers, Primark and Uniqlo t-shirts, Pandora jewelry , Casetify phone cases, Swatch watches and Tenga sex toys, occasionally drawing critical fans.
