The Reason Choco Tacos Were, Sadly, Discontinued

Gen Xers (who were the first to grow up on the treat) heaved a collective sigh of disappointment when it was announced that the beloved Choco Taco was being discontinued in July of 2022. Who can forget peeling back the crinkly silver wrapper to find a delightful ice cream treat in the form of a taco? Easy to eat and hard to forget, the Choco Taco consisted of a chocolate-lined waffle cone in the shape of a taco shell packed with vanilla ice cream and topped with chopped peanuts and, yep, even more chocolate. It was similar to eating an ice cream drumstick, but more enchanting because of the form factor. 

So what could have possibly made Klondike, the brand responsible for the Choco Taco, pull the plug? Turns out, it had less to do with suffering sales of the confection and more to do with the parent company's bottom line. Unilever, which owns Klondike, claims it experienced huge growth and had to remove some products to make room for others. A post from Klondike on X from July of 2022 read, "We've experienced an unprecedented spike in demand across our portfolio and have had to make very tough decisions to ensure availability [within it]." Unilever owns more than 30 brands, spanning industries from food to health and beauty. The brand claims that ice cream is in general one of its more unprofitable products, and made the decision to restructure and focus more on its health and beauty products.

Rumors abound that Choco Taco is coming back, but is it really? The answer: sort of. A Choco Taco-inspired product is hitting the market in 2024, and while it might be a real treat, it's not the real deal. The Original Choco Taco was developed in 1983 by Alan Drazen, the manager of an ice cream store in Philly.  It truly had a good run. For nearly 40 years, ice cream lovers could find the treat in ice cream trucks, at the grocery store, and offered as a dessert at their favorite local eateries (older fans may remember seeing the Choco Taco placard on the table at their favorite Mexican restaurants back in the day, while the younger generation may remember the Choco Taco from Taco Bell in 2022).

Klondike claims it hopes to bring the product back to stores in the future, but Taco Bell saw a hole in the market and has stepped in to fill it. The new dessert taco is a collaboration between Taco Bell and Portland-based Salt & Straw. The flavors will be different, but the idea behind the product tasty ice cream in a waffle cone taco shell – will stay the same. It might not have the nostalgia of the original, but hopefully, it will fill the void the Choco Taco left behind. And if you're willing to tinker with the form factor one degree further, consider trying (and topping) the viral ice cream nachos!