Wegmans, Spikes team up for new ice cream flavor
ROCHESTER, NY – The Red Wings mascot “Spikes” is flying high over his first product endorsement – a deal with Wegmans Food Markets that gives him his own ice cream flavor. Capping hush-hush negotiations, the parties talked terms at a press conference, Wednesday May 25 at The Food Bar, the restaurant adjacent to Wegmans’ Pittsford store at 3195 Monroe Avenue. Here are the details:
- A new Wegmans-brand flavor called “Spikes Play Ball” has been unveiled: creamy vanilla with strawberry and blueberry swirls and candy stars
- The package features the Red Wings logo with Spikes, and team colors of red, yellow and black
- The ice cream will be sold in Rochester-area Wegmans stores in 48 oz. packages for $2.39
- Cones and dishes of “Spikes Play Ball” can also be ordered at The Food Bar, starting at $1.75 per serving
- It will be sampled at Frontier Field after several Red Wings games this season
- The flavor will be available throughout the baseball season
Spikes’ agent, Dan Mason, also General Manager of the Red Wings, is all smiles: “‘Show me the birdseed!’ was all I heard from Spikes once he’d seen the movie Jerry Maguire,” Mason said. “When I approached him about his own ice cream flavor, he was all over it and wanted it to be top quality. So I reached out to Wegmans and we think we’ve really hit a home run here!”
Mike DeCory, vice president of Wegmans brand, agrees. “It’s a fun way to cheer for our hometown baseball team. What goes great after hot dogs and baseball? I’d say ice cream! We’ve used only the best to meet Spikes’ demands: fresh milk and cream sourced locally, and premium ingredients.”
Before the new flavor was green-lighted, there was lots of tasting and testing: was it cool, silky, melt-in-your-mouth delicious? Was it sweet enough, but not too sweet? Spikes was one of the tasters, and left no doubt about his feelings, Mason said: “He was as excited as when a Red Wing hits it out of the park with the bases loaded!”
Some of Spikes’ friends joined him at the press conference to share the moment, including Red Wings President, CEO and COO Naomi Silver, Wegmans President Colleen Wegman, and Mittsy – the female mascot for the Red Wings.
“Mittsy wanted to be there for Spikes,” Mason said. “He may look like one tough bird, but he’s all heart underneath. This is a very big deal for him.”
Check out a photo album from the press conference, in the Photos section of Facebook.com/RocRedWings.
Video highlights of the press conference in our Multimedia section.
Wegmans homepage: www.Wegmans.com
Wegmans The Food Bar at Pittsford