Clover ice cream: just fancier packaging or fancier ice cream?

[wearybashful]

Here in the north bay, our local dairy, Clover, just made its ice cream packaging more upscale. The ice cream tastes better to me, too---
or am I just being influenced by the slicker package?
What do you think?

[jsaimd]

Andornico's used to carry clover ice cream and they are in the East bay

[gardyloo]

The Clover Website has a locator link. I'll have to mosey on in to Walnut Creek and try their chocolate ice cream. When I was expecting my (now grown) kids, I used to drink their chocolate milk as a relatively healthy indulgence. Clover made it with tapioca powder as a thickener and it was like drinking a chocolate malt. Yum!

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Clover Stornetta Farms
5401 Old Redwood Hwy, Petaluma, CA

[jcormac]

BTW, got a nice response from Clover saying no one in SF currently carries their stuff but that this place in San Mateo did. So FYI:

Piazza Fine Foods
1218 West Hillsdale Blvd
San Mateo 94403
650 341-9496

[Tripeler]

Likely the new packaging makes it SELL faster. Another place where packaging/labels is important is mid-range wine.

[wearybashful]

I think they're making the right marketing decision, because a local company shouldn't look like national bargain brands--- people don't expect it to.

But has anybody eaten the stuff? There seem to be new flavors, too. I had vanilla bean, which was good, and I'm pretty sure there used to be just plain vanilla and French vanilla.

[SteveG]

Haven't had the ice cream, but I think the Clover Organic milk and cream has been very good lately. I think Strauss has been very healthy competition.

[Melanie Wong]

Ok, curiousity got the better of me and I picked up a carton of French Vanilla when I was at Castaneda's this weekend. I didn't have that much experience with the product before the new packaging, mostly in root beer floats or pie ala mode. This seems much denser and is almost chewy. I think the previous product had more air in it. I think it's aiming to compete with Dreyer's and is priced lower.

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Castaneda's Marketplace
8465 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor, CA

[skilletgazer]

Holy mackerel, I don't care how they package it, I just want to get it down in the East Bay! My family was just up in Point Reyes Station for a week, and--innocently enough--bought some Clover chocolate. It was the most intense, phenomenal chocolate we have ever tasted, short of making our own. Amazing stuff. My wife, who produced two strapping children with Ben & Jerry's, has been suggesting I make a drive up to San Rafael for some more. Any idea of the location <i>closest</i> to the Richmond/SR bridge to pick some up? You Marin/Sonoma folks don't know how good you have it.

[Ruth Lafler]

There are several stores in the East Bay that carry Clover products. I'd email Clover and ask who carries the ice cream.

[lexdevil]

Piedmont Grocery carries Clover ice cream.

[Agent 510]

Indeed, while quite a few of the East Bay stores on their website carry their milk and yogurt, many don't have the ice cream. Monterey Market, Andronico's on Shattuck, and Berkeley Natural Foods all don't.

[jcormac]

I wrote them to see if any SF stores carry it. The news that Andronicos doesn't carry it makes me pessimistic. I'll pass on any response.

[lexdevil]

Piedmont Grocery still carried it as of yesterday, but the packaging was the same old same old.

[Melanie Wong]

Here's the new package. http://cloverstornetta.com/images/pro...

It was $3.99 for 1.4L at the market where I purchased the French Vanilla flavor; Dreyer's was $4.99.