Cold Stone Creamery Just Dropped A Controversial Flavor For Easter

Ice cream lovers have been flocking to Cold Stone Creamery since the chain first opened its doors in 1988. Today, the company makes an estimated $3.9 million in global sales each year (via Franchise Times). That's a lot of ice cream.

Although the company didn't produce any vegan flavors until this past January, Cold Stone Creamery has teased our taste buds with a number of interesting scoops over the years. Its year-round menu includes flavors like cake batter and peanut butter cookie dough, while its seasonal ice creams include eggnog and pumpkin cheesecake (via Cold Stone Creamery).

Some locations also have local favorites, like watermelon sorbet, cotton candy, cinnamon bun butter, Orange Dreamsicle, and black cherry. These all seem like pretty safe choices, considering other ice cream companies experiment with bizarre flavors like celery, Cheetos, and fish sauce caramel — but Cold Stone Creamery is really expanding its horizons with its newest flavor for the Easter season, and it's quite a controversial one.

If you like the Easter candy staple Peeps, Cold Stone Creamery now has the perfect pick for you. Their new Peeps Flavored Ice Cream is available as a regular scoop, a shake, and as a "Sweet Spring" creation. The latter comes with a whipped topping, blue sugar sprinkles, and a Peeps marshmallow chick on top, says a release on PR Newswire.

However, not everyone might be on board. Those spongy little marshmallows covered in colored sugar are one of those controversial foods people either love or really hate. A poll by Simplemost showed that 62% of respondents said they like Peeps, while 38% said they hate Peeps. How anyone could possibly hate a marshmallow little chick, we'll never know.

According to the VP of marketing at Kahala Brands, Cold Stone's parent company, the new flavor is meant to feel nostalgic. "We love both being a part of making family memories and bringing back memories for the young at heart," said Sara Schmillen, "and ice cream that tastes just like Peeps does just that!"

This flavor is available at nationwide locations until May 10.