What Dairy Queen is doing this summer has a subtle sense of ambition. The majority of fast-food restaurants follow the formula, such as a limited-edition caramel drizzle or a seasonal berry swirl. However, it seems like someone on their product team took a chance with the new Dairy Queen Blizzard flavors that are currently available on menus. It remains to be seen if that gamble will be profitable.
The three new Blizzard additions will be released under what DQ is referring to as a “Blizzard Treat Cup” lineup, coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary and the excitement surrounding the World Cup that is sweeping through American cities. That framing is a little bit sincere and a little bit marketing. However, the flavors themselves merit discussion on their own terms.
The Mexican-style Hot Chocolate made with Abuelita Blizzard is the one that stops you in your tracks. Chocolate chunks, fudge-covered marshmallows, and cocoa fudge are combined with Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate Mix, a product that has been a mainstay in Latin households for generations. It’s difficult not to wonder if DQ is subtly recognizing a clientele that has been largely ignored in the frozen dessert industry because there’s a warmth to that flavor profile that doesn’t usually appear in ice cream chains. The intention seems sincere, but it’s still unclear if the execution aligns with the concept.
The Biscoff Cookie Blizzard is another. This is for you if you’ve ever eaten Biscoff spread right out of the jar at two in the afternoon and didn’t feel bad about it. In retrospect, this flavor combination—caramelized, crunchy, European in origin and deeply American in its blizzard form—seems obvious, which usually indicates that someone opposed it for a while before it was eventually accepted. For years, the Biscoff craze has been steadily spreading throughout bakeries and coffee shops. Dairy Queen’s arrival feels both perfectly timed and a bit late.
The third option, the Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi Blizzard, seems to be pursuing a distinct kind of craving. The combination of mango-flavored mochi pieces, strawberry topping, and soft serve may seem more appealing in theory than in reality. Large amounts of cold soft serve don’t always work well with the chewy density of mochi. However, compared to anything else on the Blizzard menu, it offers a truly unique texture experience, and for many, that novelty is sufficient.
The Stars & Stripes Misty Slush Float, which is exactly what it sounds like—cherry Misty Slush, soft serve, and blue raspberry Misty Slush stacked in layers with star sprinkles—sits next to the new Blizzards. It comes with 250 bonus DQ Rewards points and is available starting on June 29 at a small size for $2.50. Given the anniversary, this seems like a nice bit of symmetry. By buying any of the new Blizzard flavors, members can earn entries toward a “dream vacation” in a sweepstakes linked to the new lineup via the DQ App, which runs from June 29 to July 6.
This isn’t meant to be complicated, and none of it is. However, it seems like Dairy Queen is focusing a little more on what customers genuinely want to eat this season rather than just what looks good in pictures or fits neatly into a press release. In particular, the Abuelita Blizzard implies that. What the lines look like by the end of July will determine whether or not customers agree.
