The new offering is sold in 15oz jars to resemble an ice cream pint and encourages consumers to ‘enjoy by the spoonful.’
Nestlé has released two flavors: Chocolate chip, which is ‘a nod to Toll House’s famous cookie,’ and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Monster, which offers a ‘fan favorite’ combination of peanut butter, oats and candy-coated chocolate.
According to Nestlé, the new product is not a stand-in for ready-to-bake dough. The label even warns consumers: ‘do not bake.’
“It’s created to be safe to eat right out of the tub for maximum convenience,” a Nestlé spokesperson told BakeryandSnacks.
A two tablespoon serving clocks in at 140 calories, with 4.5g of fat (including 2.5g of saturated fat), 5mg of cholesterol, 115mg of sodium and 25g of carbohydrates.
The edible cookie dough is already available at Publix, a Florida-based grocery chain, for an RRP of $4.97 to $5.49 and is expected to roll out nationwide soon.
Trending: edible cookie dough
Nestlé is far from the first purveyor of this newfangled treat.
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream sells bite-sized pieces of ‘snackable dough,’ which must be stored in the freezer. Duff Goldman, a chef and star of the Food Network show Ace of Cakes, also sells a packaged version that does not require refrigeration.
According to Google Trends, the search term 'cookie dough' has risen steadily since 2004, typically spiking around the holidays. In 2012, it surpassed the 25-point marker on Google's 100-point popularity scale, and today sits around 68. 'Edible cookie dough' took off in 2017, spiking above 20 points after Nestlé's Toll House dough was spotted in the wild.
A few entrepreneurs started selling the scoopable treat in retail settings akin to ice cream parlors. Through experimenting with different ratios of butter and sugar, many have created a safe-to-eat product without raw eggs – though some, like Dō, a retail shop in New York City, use pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour to diminish the risk of contracting salmonella or E. coli.
In 2014, an Illinois-based chain called The Cookie Dough Café landed a $100k deal with Lori Greiner on Shark Tank. Their edible doughs are now available in nearly 10k stores across the US, including major retailers like Kroger and Walmart.
NPD analyst Darren Seifer told the New York Times in 2017 that "the concept of eating raw cookie dough isn't new, and that's important for consumers. Innovation that asks for only slight changes in habits has a greater likelihood of success."