Looking to beat the summer heat? Well, Virginia Tech has a scoop for you.
Hokie Nation has two new ways to stay cool this summer as the latest flavors to come out of Virginia Tech and Homestead Creamery’s cool ice cream collaboration roll out to grocery stores, restaurants, ice cream shops, and specialty stores across Virginia.
Evoking the creaminess of Homestead’s classic French custard-style ice cream, HokieBerry Trail consists of a base of premium vanilla swirled with tart Chicago maroon raspberry pomegranate and sprinkled with decadent dark chocolate crumbles. Hokie Sunset Swirl has a smooth vanilla ice cream base with vanilla cake crunch bites. A ripple of sun-kissed mango tangerine gives it a refreshing fruity bite and its signature burnt orange color.
As with Hokie Tracks — the first licensed ice cream to come out of Virginia Tech and Homestead’s creamy collaboration — these new flavors were developed by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Food Science and Technology faculty members and alumni Joell Eifert ’88, M.S. ’14 and Brian Wiersema ’98 working in partnership with Homestead’s team.
“The success of Hokie Tracks exceeded our expectations, and now we’re really excited to share these two new flavors with the public,” Eifert said. “We worked really hard to make sure they embody Virginia Tech in every way.”
Team members’ first ice cream was so well liked that it caught them off guard, and according to Eifert, it didn’t sink in until the CEO of a popular regional grocery store chain reached out after tasting it to request to carry the legen-dairy dessert in his stores.
“We’ve been developing these two new flavors for quite some time — they’ve become a passion project for Joell and I — and they each express something about us,” Wiersema said.
When the team set out to develop Hokie Tracks’ successor, its members came up with three ideas that guided the development of the ice creams’ flavor profile — they wanted refreshing fruity flavors, classic Virginia Tech colors Chicago maroon and burnt orange to be represented and they wanted to create something that consumers couldn’t already buy.
“What says summer more than fresh fruit?” Eifert said. “We also wanted to lean into flavors that both showed off our colors and were something unusual that folks weren’t seeing in stores.”
This cold collaboration benefits more than just those who enjoy quality frozen treats. A portion of the proceeds from sales of all three flavors go to support food science education through the funding of scholarships, student product development teams, lab supplies, and more in the Department of Food Science and Technology — a program consistently recognized as one of the top food science institutions in the country for its focus on experiential learning and its nearly 100 percent career placement rate.
Eifert said the department will award its first student scholarships funded entirely by Hokie Tracks sales in summer 2025.
“I hope when people buy our ice cream they know that a portion of the proceeds does come back to the academic side and help our students be able to do things that maybe they wouldn’t normally be able to do,” Wiersema said. “Experiential learning and studying abroad gives them new perspectives and opportunities for discovery.”
The new pint container label designs for both flavors feature university trademarks, including the word “Hokie” and the Hokie ice cream marks, which represent the footprints of Virginia Tech’s beloved mascot, the HokieBird. The label for Hokie Sunset Swirl features a golden-orange sun setting over silhouetted mountains, reminiscent of the Appalachian sunset that both Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus and Homestead experience every night. HokieBerry Trail’s label features topography lines surrounding a dotted path, a reference to Blacksburg’s Huckleberry Trail that gave the ice cream its name. The new designs were created by Shanin Glenn for Virginia Tech Communications and Marketing in collaboration with Homestead Creamery.
Virginia Tech’s partnership with Homestead Creamery was established in 2021 to bring innovative food science research to market using homegrown ingredients and Virginian know-how. Eifert had been working with the award-winning and locally beloved Homestead for over a decade in her role at Virginia Tech, so when the idea of creating a bespoke licensed ice cream for the Hokie Nation first arose, the conversation about who to partner with was a short one.
“We take a lot of pride in being known for making quality food products using local, wholesome ingredients, so collaborating with Joell, Brian, and Virginia Tech was an obvious decision,” said Walt Frazier, president of Homestead Creamery. “We’ve been so pleased with the response to Hokie Tracks, and we can’t wait to see how people feel about these two new flavors, which we spent a lot of time and care crafting to be completely unique to Virginia Tech.”
According to Wiersema, the best part of developing any food product is finally seeing it in consumer hands and creating something for his alma mater made it all the more special.
“It makes all of us proud, and it should make all Hokies proud,” he said. “We’re a Virginia Tech department. I’m an alum. Homestead is full of our alumni. To work together as our own little family to bring this to the greater Virginia Tech family — from farm to spoon — that is really fun to see.”
Those who like their social engagements à la mode can join the university for Hokies, Scoops, and Brews, a launch celebration that will be held in McLean on Sept. 15 in collaboration with Homestead and Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. Registration is now open. Stay tuned to the Department of Food Science and Technology on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, and LinkedIn for upcoming events and announcements.
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