Let’s see…trying delicious ice cream flavors. Saving a few calories. Getting a better night’s sleep. Yep, Nightfood ice cream checks off all three boxes for me.
A 1/2-cup serving of this new ice cream (should you, unlike me, be able to stop at half a cup) has 6g of protein, 6-8g sugar, and between 70 and 90 calories Pretty impressive.
For comparison sake, the same 1/2-cup serving size of Haagen-Dazs Cookie Dough has 23g sugar, just 4 g protein, and 300 calories.
As for the sleep claim, you’ll be happy to know that Fast Company quotes founder Sean Folkson as saying that they didn’t drop crushed-up Ambien or melatonin into the ice cream, but instead made ice cream that’s “less disruptive” to sleep by minimizing caffeine, sugars and lots of fat.
Related: 8 tips for a better night’s sleep you may not have tried
To get data nerd-y, the sleep benefits result from a “Nightfood mineral blend” of magnesium citrate, calcium citrate and zinc citrate, plus the amino acid glycine, and various digestive enzymes. Those ingredients, coupled with protein and a decent amount of dietary fiber from chicory root, evidently can do the job of melatonin, only better.
The current roster of 8 Nightfood ice cream flavors include classics amped up with clever sleep-inspired names, like Midnight Chocolate, Cookies ‘n Dreams, After Dinner Mint Chip (ha, get it?), and Milk n Cookie Dough. Cold Brew Decaf sounds delicious, but maybe not the first flavor I’d consider for a a better night’s sleep so that’s intriguing.
And then there’s Full Moon Vanilla, which makes me think way more of period food than sleep food.
Hey, either is fine by me.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about the tone and branding for just a sec?
This could clearly be a brilliant product for women and moms, because:
1) we want low-cal options
2) we read labels
3) we want to cut back on sugar for ourselves and our kids
4) SLEEEEEP OMG WE NEED SLEEP
We’re also interested in knowing that 5 of the 8 flavors are gluten-free, that there’s no Sucralose or artificial sweeteners and whether it’s safe for kids — which it presumably is. Yet all of that info is pretty buried on the site.
Maybe because the Nightfood seems to be developed from a totally male perspective, and that really surprises me for an ice cream brand.
I was not shocked at all to click over and see that the company is run entirely by men with a board of advisors entirely consisting of men — with one exception in nutritional advisor Dr. Lauren Broch, who you can find if you scroll to the very bottom.
Their roster of “brand ambassadors” is comprised of male athletes (plus Angela Stanford), a trio of sleep experts, and a popular YouTube comedian who’s big on fart pranks. (Now there’s an intriguing brand placement opportunity.)
Dudes! Sean! My potential ice cream saviors of Nightfood! One suggestion if I may?
The group of people facing the most insomnia, sleep deprivation, and difficulties falling and staying asleep? That’d be women.
I hope you feel you can speak to our needs and interests too; and I bet you can even do it without alienating the very desirable Current NFL Players demographic.
Check out Nightfood.com for more info on Nightfood’s sleep-inducing low-cal ice cream launching this month, and follow them @therealnightfood on Instagram for updates.
h/t Delish, This Insider
I do love the idea of ice cream to eat before bed. 😉 And thank you for looking at the company’s leadership. It’s not enough to have a good product. I like to support companies that take everyone into account.
Have you tasted it?
Nope — but as I said, happy to volunteer.