We’ve all seen those ads. Get paid to become a professional sleep tester. Roll joints for Snoop Dogg. Now just in time for summer: Taste ice cream for Van Leeuwen.
The beloved New York City ice cream brand known for its French-style extra-egg and vegan ice cream flavors announced its nationwide search for a lead ice cream taster on Monday. The winner will get unlimited ice cream for a year — this is the point where I scream, you scream, and we all can scream — and also help co-founder and CEO Ben Van Leeuwen and the team create a new flavor.
“I can’t count the number of times over the years people have said ‘if you ever need an ice cream taster!,” Van Leeuwen said. “So now’s your chance! If you’ve ever wanted to eat ice cream every day or had ice cream flavor ideas, this is for you — our customers often have the best ideas so we’re excited to see what the LICT comes up with!”
Van Leeuwen is calling the lead ice cream taster the “ultimate ice cream insider” who will help brainstorm new creations, receive regular shipments of flavors to taste for quality control, and test flavors that are developing. By the way, Hidden Valley Ranch and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese have already been created as Van Leeuwen ice creams, so think harder!
The winner will be flown to New York City, with flights covered, and hosted for a two-night stay at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg — unless it’s one of you NYC cats who swoops the lead scoop — to help celebrate Van Leeuwen’s 15th anniversary and National Ice Cream Day.
Once the winner has reached the Big Apple, you’ll experience Big Dairy by joining a production run at the Van Leeuwen factory, dip into a “Scoop Shop Tour” with the CEO, and dole out free ice cream from an ice cream truck for New Yorkers at the original spot in SoHo where Van Leeuwen first got its melt on in 2008.
Van Leeuwen will host an open casting call at its East Village location on Tuesday, June 26 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. While only one lucky winner will be chosen as the lead ice cream taster, anyone who enters the contest will earn a free scoop of Van Leeuwen’s made-from-scratch ice cream.
If you’re not based in New York City or the surrounding areas, you can apply online for a chance to become Van Leeuwen’s lead ice cream taster.
Here’s how: Submit a video to contest@vanleeuwenicecream.com on why you should be crowned the title of Van Leeuwen’s LICT. The video should include these three details: why you love ice cream, your favorite Van Leeuwen flavor, and why you want to be Van Leeuwen’s LICT. Bonus points if you incorporate Van Leeuwen in your video and post your video on social media.
The final date to enter is July 6, 2023. The winner will be notified on July 10 and flown to New York City from July 17 to 19. If you’re under 18, you can enter with parental or guardian permission. For more details, visit vanleeuwenicecream.com/
