Before Covid-19, perhaps you could lure someone out of the house with a $200 grilled cheese, $300 burger or $25,000 frozen hot chocolate.
During that simpler time, you could fall in love at the glove counter at Bloomingdale’s, split a sundae at the shop down the street, lose that person’s phone number in a Gabriel García Márquez novel and spend the next decade retracing your steps.
But the pandemic curbed much of that frivolous whimsy. Though the $200 plate of french fries has resurfaced, few aspire to be John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale wasting a decade pining after each other in public places.
If anything, they want to be Selena Gomez: cutting tracks with K-pop stars, occasionally solving crimes with wizened actors in stately prewar buildings and having decadent ice cream from a company she owns delivered to her doorstep.
As the pandemic wears on and public life evolves, ice cream and cocoa company Serendipity Brands has embraced a Covid-era survival strategy that’s become just as vital to the brand as the Serendipity3 restaurant that’s existed in various forms since 1954 in New York City.
Shifting primarily to digital distribution, Serendipity made its flavors more widely available through delivery services including Gopuff, Goldbelly and DoorDash. With Gomez directing proceeds of Serendipity’s sales toward her Rare Impact Fund for access to mental health services, the brand has exchanged a bit of indulgence for empathy, a tactic worth considering by marketers for other DTC brands.
“Ultimately, we’re an ice cream brand: We’re opulent desserts out of New York,” said Miguel Garcia Castillo, adviser for brands and marketing at Serendipity Brands. “Sometimes mental health can come in the simple moments of kindness and happiness that can make a huge impact. And that’s really the world that we want to play in.”
Serendipitous fate
Little about Serendipity’s history can be described as simple. Serendipity3 took the key portion of its name from an 18th century writer’s term for fortunate happenstance—based on a 14th century novel. Its original location was in a basement and drew ad execs and fashion editors for espresso and pie. Among its Tiffany lamps, stained glass and street signs, it once housed Andy Warhol’s early artwork and denim clothes made by James Beard and others. Guests included Marilyn Monroe, Cher, numerous U.S. presidents and Jacqueline Kennedy, who reportedly tried to buy the recipe to its signature Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.
Its head chef, Joe Calderone, secured Guinness World Records by introducing saltless dessert caviar, Armagnac brandy, gold leaf, Baccarat crystal goblets, and both gold and pearl spoons to its in-house offerings. At one point, Serendipity3 boasted locations in Vegas, Washington D.C., Florida and Japan.
Much like the rest of the world, Serendipity looked a lot different after Covid-19 hit. The East 60th Street Serendipity3 location closed for renovations in summer 2020 and didn’t reopen for more than a year—leaving much of the brand’s presence to grocery shelves and delivery services.
Just after Serendipity3’s closure, singer, actress and entrepreneurial investor Selena Gomez bought a stake in Serendipity Brands. As part of the deal, 1% of all Serendipity ice cream and cocoa sales are funneled to the Rare Impact Fund.
According to the World Health Organization, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased 25% since the pandemic began. Garcia Castillo said 16- and 17-year-old customers have called into Serendipity Brands seeking help with mental health issues based on the brand’s relationship with Gomez—who’s been candid about her own struggles with mental health throughout her career. That’s led Serendipity to develop a protocol directing customers to Rare Impact and their partners at mental health organizations.
A pint of purpose
Aware of the brand’s limitations in dealing with mental health directly, Serendipity’s marketers want to make it more known within the communities it’s trying to help.
Serendipity has partnered with Warner Bros. to make Friends coffee and A Christmas Story holiday mint varieties of its ice cream to reach broader audiences. Serendipity head chef Joe Calderone, the man behind the Guinness World Record three-figure sandwiches and five-figure sundaes, has supplemented the classics with flavors like the pink, fudge-swirled, Gomez-approved Cookies & Cream Remix.
In 2023, it’s planning big pushes across social media and expanding into reviews and other content. It’s also repackaging its products to embody more of the lights-and-tchotchkes mirth of its restaurants. Finally, Serendipity Brands is promoting large-scale events in May for Mental Health Awareness Month.
“Mental health is nothing to mess around with,” Garcia Castillo said. “We are just getting started on this in terms of the long-term [life] of the brand.
“We’re trying to find mental health as that moment of being with your friend that kind of gives you that ability to be yourself. The moment where sometimes a phone call is all you need, where a friend is like, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ and that makes your day.”
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