How To Get Your Very Own Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor

Are you familiar with Ben & Jerry's famous ice cream flavor Cherry Garcia? Well, fun fact: It was suggested by an anonymous fan of the brand. You know what this means. If you're one of those people who obsess over creating your own perfect bowl of ice cream, adding unique toppings, sauces, and syrups like Jackson Pollock pouring paint over a canvas, maybe it's time for you to submit your idea and get your very own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor. The best part? It's actually quite easy to submit your idea on the Ben & Jerry's website, where the company asks for details, breaks down the fact that they've heard it all (Ben & Jerry's library of ice cream flavors is way more expansive than you may realize), and claims ownership of any idea you submit. In fact, you aren't even guaranteed to get a prize or recognition unless the actual Ben and Jerry (maybe just Ben now, since Jerry left the company in September 2025) deem it appropriate. This shouldn't scare you away from submitting your idea, though. It's all pretty typical corporate legalese. 

So, yes, the beloved ice cream company still wants you to submit creative flavor suggestions to the aptly named "Random Genius Ideas Database," where Ben & Jerry's own "Flavor Gurus" decide on the fate of your concoction. All they need to know is the flavor name, a detailed description of what goes into the ice cream, and the desired overall flavor, as well as your personal details. Fill out the form, and you can, at the very least, tell anyone who is willing to listen that you have submitted ice cream ideas to Ben & Jerry's. It's a conversation starter!

Keep in mind that building your very own ice cream that meets the high standards of Ben & Jerry's is going to be highly challenging. After all, this is the brand that makes the best chocolate peanut butter ice cream we've ever tried. First off, the company gets submissions from all over, and they have an expert internal team that develops their own ideas as a full-time, high-stakes job. As Chris Rivard, global product development manager at Ben & Jerry's told QZ, he can't just say something is "good" and have it made. There are ingredient suppliers, supply chains, and the input of dozens of colleagues that have to be taken into consideration before an ice cream flavor gets approved and goes into production. 

"If you're lucky, everyone loves it after the first try. Almost never happens. There's always discussions: It's too sweet. The swirl needs to change. The texture. Or it's too crunchy. For any flavor, there's usually at least three to five iterations that are presented to a group. And I might make something two or three times on my own before I'm ready to present it to a team," he explained. But, don't let the high bar and big competition pool dissuade you from submitting a suggestion to Ben & Jerry's. Even if the company doesn't accept your flavor, it's recognized some great submissions on its website that won't ever go into production — at least at the Ben & Jerry's plant. From Wake and Bacon (vanilla ice cream with maple syrup and, you guessed it, bacon) to Gregarious Gorgonzola (think dark chocolate ice cream, fruit jam, and stinky cheese), no idea is too far-fetched. Get mixin'!