Unilever's New Delivery Partnership Means The End Of Melty Ben & Jerry's

Ice cream's novelty lies in its fragility. As PBS outlines, frozen treats rather similar to ice cream date back to the Tang dynasty well over 2,700 years ago when cow, goat, or buffalo milk was mixed with flour and camphor and frozen. Alexander the Great enjoyed sweetened icy concoctions as did the famously cavalier Roman emperor Nero. Even George Washington made old-fashioned ice cream at his Mount Vernon home.

Beyond the cooling properties, the fact that before refrigeration technology, ice was a prized and protected commodity meant that ice cream and other frozen desserts were a sort of status symbol. Howe Corporation outlines how ice was once cut from ponds and rivers, stored in insulated ice houses, and packed in sawdust and wood shavings for transport from colder regions to warmer climes.

Today, though, ice is found in abundance thanks to technology. Services, such as Instacart, are also to thank for advances in how groceries and other goods are delivered to us. Where just a few short decades ago, it would be almost unthinkable not to drive to a grocery store for the food we need to fill our larders, today, with a few clicks, the same food can be whisked right to your door, and we think nothing of it.

A recently announced partnership between a major ice cream producer and delivery service means that frozen treats can now make it to your door easier, faster, and colder than ever before.

In a joint press release, conglomerate Unilever and ASAP.com announced that frozen desserts produced by the former, which included brands like Good Humor, Ben & Jerry's, and Magnum, will be available on the latter's on-demand delivery platform.

Unilever is one of the world's largest manufacturers of household items, including soaps and other cleaners, personal care products, and foodstuffs, notes Britannica. ASAP.com, which is owned by Waitr Holdings, operates in 1,000 U.S. cities and delivers groceries, prepared foods, and a number of other items to customers same-day. ASAP.com's partner restaurants will be able to add Unilever frozen desserts to their online ordering options, not just creating a larger customer base for the products but additional revenue opportunities for the eateries.

CEO and Chairman of the Board of ASAP, Inc. Carl Grimstad said in the press release that the partnership makes sense given his company's wide-ranging business model. "Adding the top ice cream brands to the ASAP platform will be a tasty treat for our loyal customers. And going into partnership with Unilever is another high-profile implementation of our new business model to 'deliver anything' to consumers, same day, from any type of business."

This isn't Unilever's only interesting delivery partnership. Earlier this year, it was announced that the company's The Ice Cream Shop, which serves as a digital storefront for all of their frozen desserts, joined forces with Flytrex to offer drone delivery of brands like Breyer's and Talenti in North Carolina and Texas.