Vegan ice cream wars go on and on

It has been a difficult battle and at times I have felt like I can’t go on. The vegan ice cream wars are starting to take a serious toll on me (mostly my waistline), but for the sake of public interest and immense greed I will continue. If only for my dear readers.

Triano cone - as Lisa and Bart said, "Meh".

This is the part that gets confusing. Tofutti is a well-established brand, churning out masses of dairy-free products that are exported all over the planet. I have often enjoyed their vegan ice creams, dessert sandwiches, cheese imitations and even a mini, frozen, vegan cheese pizza. I don’t believe they are the healthiest food choices, but they satisfy in a cholesterol-free and cruelty-free way.

One of the products well-known to Tofutti consumers is the waffle cone filled with vanilla ice cream and nuts. Call it a Cornetto copy and people will understand. I hadn’t seen the Rock ‘n’ Roll cones around for a while, but during a recent shopping expedition I rediscovered the cones in a Holland & Barrett store. All seemed to be in order. The packaging was identical. The colours and photos were the same as they have always been. It wasn’t until I searched for the familiar Toffutti brand name that I noticed things must have changed. In place of what I was expecting was the company name Triano. But even this was in the same font as the old Tofutti packaging.

Triano cone box - identical to the Tofutti branded version

Being a curious FGV, I visited the Triano web site. From what little information the site offers, it would appear they are the European distributors and license holders for the Tofutti brand. They supply tubs of ice cream, frozen stick desserts, blocks of vegan cheese and dairy-free cheesecakes. Their products are currently shipped to 22 European countries and the company has published claims of new and exciting products arriving this Summer.

Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but the cone I had was rather flavourless and dull. The waffle was soft and chewy but the ice cream filling and nut topping tasted of not much at all. A few weeks ago I tried one of the Triano frozen cheesecakes and was equally unimpressed. My job had been to supply a dessert for a dinner party and by involving Triano I seriously underperformed. I am sorry to say not one person of the five attending had a kind word to say about the item. The cheeses appear to be of the same high Tofutti standard, but it seems the dessert element of Triano leaves a lot to be desired.

Here’s hoping the new Summer range will go some way in redressing this. In the meantime, I will continue to fight the good fight in my epic battle to bring vegan ice cream news to you.