Red, chocolate and heart shapes are the unsurprising themes for chains as they gear up for Valentine’s Day.
Baskin-Robbins is taking the opportunity to add two flavors to its line of ice cream cake bites, introduced last October.
Love Potion #31 is white chocolate and raspberry ice cream with a raspberry ribbon, raspberry-filled chocolate hearts and chocolate chips, served on chocolate cake, covered in chocolate-flavored coating and finished with a raspberry-flavored chocolate drizzle.
The Chocolate Dipped Strawberry cake bite is Very Berry Strawberry ice cream served over chocolate cake, covered in chocolate-flavored coating, drizzled with strawberry glaze and topped with miniature chocolate hearts.
The 6,600-unit Dunkin’ Brands subsidiary also is offering a Valentine’s Day “Box of Chocolates” four pack of ice cream cake bites for a suggested retail price of $9.99. The cakes are available individually at a suggested retail price of $2.99.
In addition, Baskin-Robbins’ February flavor of the month is Superfudge Truffle — chocolate fudge ice cream with chunks of chocolate ganache and toffee truffle pieces.
Sister brand Dunkin’ Donuts is introducing a new heart-shaped dessert for the holiday. The Chocolate Heart Donut is frosted with chocolate, filled with the chain’s vanilla Bavarian Kreme and sprinkled with chocolate chips.
The 10,000-unit chain also is reprising its Cupid’s Choice Donut, filled with Bavarian Kreme and topped with strawberry icing and pink, white and red heart-shaped sprinkles.
The donuts are available for a suggested retail price of 89 cents each.
Krispy Kreme also is selling heart-shaped doughnuts in February. The Drizzled Heart is a chocolate iced doughnut with a red-icing drizzle, while the Heart with Sprinkles has white icing, and red and white sprinkles.
In addition, the 660-unit chain based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is offering its regular-shaped chocolate iced doughnut with red and white sprinkles.
Krispy Kreme is promoting the holiday with a set of 12 Valentine cards, which it is giving away with the purchase of a dozen doughnuts while supplies last.
Dairy Queen’s heart-shaped offering is a cake made with a layer of chocolate soft serve topped with fudge and crunch, and then a layer of vanilla soft serve decorated with icing. The heart-shaped cake sells for an average retail price of $17.49, while an eight-inch cake is $19.89 and a 10-inch cake is $22.59.
The 5,900-unit chain based in Minneapolis also has named the Choco Cherry Love Blizzard its flavor of the month for its signature blended milk shake treat. It is a blend of chocolate flavored chunks with cherries and vanilla soft serve.
Darden Restaurants' 21-unit subsidiary Seasons 52 has added a holiday themed item to its line of Mini Indulgence desserts through February 15. The Chocolate Raspberry Valentine is chocolate cake layered with chocolate syrup, raspberry purée and raspberry mousse. It’s garnished with whipped cream and a chocolate kiss.
All Seasons 52 mini indulgences are priced at $2.50 each.
Although desserts dominate when it comes to specials for this holiday, take-and-bake pizza chain Papa Murphy’s is offering a HeartBaker — a heart-shaped pizza topped with grated cheese, and pepperoni for the red color, to be taken home and baked by its customers. Prices for the pie vary by location for the 1,300-unit chain, but will average about $7 each.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with prices for Dairy Queen's cakes.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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