In anticipation of World Ice Cream Day, Ledo has opened the Cornet of Wishes, a kind of time capsule filled with nostalgia and creativity. Over 700 people from the total number of visitors to last year’s exhibition, set up in honor of Ledo’s 65th anniversary, submitted their ideas and suggestions for new flavors into the Cornet of Wishes, making this exhibit not only evoke beautiful memories but also showcase the creativity of loyal Ledo consumers.
– Besides nostalgia, the Cornet of Wishes revealed to us desires for new flavors, with the most desired being lemon, coffee, blackcurrant, lavender, fig, passion fruit, walnut, and even rose petals. Whether they will ever find their way into Ledo’s freezers in the future remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – we will continue to listen to our loyal ice cream lovers and strive to fulfill their wishes – said Robina Husajina Tunjić, brand building director at Ledo plus.
Why ‘Cornet of Wishes’?
The Cornet of Wishes at the exhibition was a tribute to the cornet itself, which, at 57 years old, is one of the longest-standing Ledo ice creams. Although Ledo began producing cornets back in 1967, it remains a unique product on the market today. The Ledo cornet is beloved, among other things, for its bottom or, as some affectionately call it, ‘the tip’, which contains chocolate. And as history writes interesting stories, so too is the story of how the cornet came to be. Legend has it that at the World’s Fair of Confectionery in St. Louis in 1904, Ernest A. Hamwi, an immigrant to the USA, was selling sweet treats resembling waffles. When the ice cream vendor next to him ran out of containers for serving ice cream, Hamwi rolled his wafer into the shape of a cornet and offered it to him, thus creating the format we know today. Additional sources even point to an earlier origin of the cornet, attributed to Agnes B. Marshall, who mentions it in her cookbook from 1888, titled “cornets with cream”.
Ledo, the Companion of Beautiful Memories
As the largest domestic ice cream producer, Ledo has marked the lives of numerous generations. The history of this company is intertwined with the childhoods and youth of many who grew up with Ledo ice creams. The nostalgia felt in the Cornet of Wishes confirms the long tradition and numerous beautiful memories that Ledo’s products have helped create.
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Visitors expressed their wishes for the return of the legendary Punch, Zagi, and Football, ice creams that were an indispensable part of many childhoods. The Zagi cornet was created for the Summer Universiade in 1987 and was named after the Universiade mascot, the squirrel Zagi. The Football was a vanilla ice cream packaged in the shape of a football that served as a toy after consumption, part of many carefree summer days. Some even recalled other ‘retro’ flavors. “I am already quite old (77), but I still remember the Eskimo ice cream (two cookies and ice cream inside). If possible, I would love for it to return,” reads one of the messages.
Along with numerous retro flavors, there were plenty of praises for the flavors that a large number of consumers enjoy today. “Beautiful, Snow White, King, and Quattro are still number 1. I wish you much success, regards,” said one of the exhibition visitors.
The Legend That Is Still Talked About Today
In the Cornet of Wishes, besides beloved ice creams, there was also the Ledo Center, a cult Zagreb venue popular in the 1980s. This venue remained a symbol not only of the best ice creams but also of unforgettable gatherings. It was home to ice cream cups with seven scoops, ice cream spaghetti, and the machine for making Fantasia – an ice cream that first combined the flavors of vanilla with frozen fruit and coffee beans. Messages like “We want the Ledo Center”, “We remember the ice cream shaped like spaghetti”, and “Fantasia ice cream was the best” clearly showed nostalgia and a desire for the reopening of the Ledo Center. This strong interest has prompted the formation of a team to explore possibilities and seriously consider the reopening of the Ledo Center in the future.
– Ledo takes the wishes of its consumers seriously and is exploring all options that could meet their demands. To further celebrate World Ice Cream Day, which is observed every year on the third Sunday in July, on Friday, July 19, we will delight and refresh our fellow citizens who find themselves in traffic near our production site, as well as passersby in the center of Zagreb, at the Square of Croatian Giants, by sharing beloved Ledo ice creams – announced Husajina Tunjić.
