Everyone has one. It is controversial and divides the population into different camps. It is wildly debated, causes discord among friends and unites strangers. Favourite glass! Some disappear, others persist for decades. One returned and melted away again. Maybe you remember it, the ice cream with the yellow-red balls? That’s right – Calippo Shots!
Facts about Calippo Shots ice cream
| What is Calippo Shots ice cream? | Calippo is an ice cream from GB Glace, which is owned by Unilever. It appeared on the glass map under the name Pop-up, changed its name to Calippo in 1990 and disappeared in 2001. Following consumer pressure, a new variant was introduced in 2012-2013 under the name Calippo Shots. |
| Appearance and taste | The ice cream consists of small pink and yellow mini balls. The pink ones taste of strawberry, the yellow ones of lime. The balls are in a resealable package so you can keep them longer than regular ice cream. |
| Where can I buy Calippo Shots? | Buy online: UK, Australia, France, Finland and Germany. |
| Calippo Shots price | UK: about £2 for 5 pieces or £1.65 each. |
| History | The ice cream was popular in Sweden and enthusiasts have repeatedly tried to get their beloved ice cream back in the range. It succeeded once, but since then the manufacturer has been steadfast, saying that demand must be greater for it to consider reintroduction again. |
Nostalgic memories
There are lots of accounts, posts and videos where people declare their love for the famous ice cream in different ways. They all seem to have one thing in common, loving the special little balls and the clever packaging. Some even claim they haven’t been happy since they had a Calippo Shot.
There are everything from instructional videos on how to eat the ice cream, to pure declarations of love where the ice cream is described as a missing partner or with sad RIP posts. The temporary reintroduction of ice cream in 2012 caused a stir and was covered in Cosmopolitan, Metro and other publications.
Popular youtuber and TV personality Mushy Mauri Hermundsson missed his childhood ice creams so much that he had experts recreate five of his favourites in the programme “Mission Food”. Mauri’s number one? Calippo Shots glass!
However, not everyone was as happy about the comeback. The Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association soon issued a press release warning that the new variant contained milk protein and therefore posed a life-threatening risk to allergy sufferers.
Why did Calippo Shots disappear into the cold?
Although enthusiasts clamoured loudly and long for the popular ice cream with the colourful balls, its comeback was rather short-lived. So why did Calippo Shots disappear? The reason was simply that there was not enough demand and willingness to buy, according to the manufacturer GB Glace. The ice cream never managed to become as popular as the more long-lived favourites in the range, such as Piggelin, Päronsplitt and the 88, stable old-timers on the charts since the 1970s.
Some say that Calippo Shots’ short-lived career was due to the manufacturer making the big mistake of changing the flavour. If the origin had been retained, nostalgic people might have remained faithful to the ice cream, and it would have remained on the coveted ice cream map outside the summer kiosks.
A taste for everyone: strawberry, lemon, lime, cola
Calippo shots are available in several flavours (abroad, but no longer available in Sweden):
- Calippo shots strawberry and lemon
- Calippo shots lemon
- Calippo shots lemon lime
- Calippo shots cola
- Calippo shots cola and lemon
A shot for the Calippo-lover
One option for those who want to relive the taste and feel of a refreshing, original Calippo, is to make a drink. Why not try the recipe below from Drinkoteket who interpreted the drink from the Pinchos restaurant chain:
- 6 cl Sour Fish Cola (alternatively Small Sour Cola)
- 2 cl vodka
- 1 cl lemon juice
- 2 cl sugar syrup
- 6 cl Coca-Cola
Bleak prospects for the future?
There are many who ask: Will calippo shots return in 2022? For the nostalgic, who would have liked to see it back in the freezer cabinets, the news is unfortunately negative. The ice cream is not coming back, despite pressure from consumers and Mustiga Mouri’s enthusiastic attempts to revive interest in it.
In his TV show, he engaged viewers as his skilled experts conjured up copies of the original with seemingly stunning results. Mauri and his guests could be seen dreamily enjoying themselves with cheerful applause, and maybe even a little lucky tear? Or as Mauri himself put it: “My god, the feeling! It’s back.”
Buy Calippo Shots online
For the rest of the poor population who could not taste the ice cream on TV, but still miss Calippo Shots unbearably much, there is happily the possibility to order the ice cream online from, among others, the UK. The question, however, is what condition it will be in when it finally lands in your mailbox …
