"Drama Queen" Ice Cream Picked as Velvet's Newest Flavor

Heath Girl Wins Annual Competition

Utica, Ohio (January 27, 2010) – Annie Toth knows drama! She's 12. She also knows ice cream.

The Hebron, Ohio, sixth-grader created Drama Queen Ice Cream, a bubble gum-flavored treat with colored sprinkles and pink, purple and vanilla swirls that was selected as the 2009 winner of the Velvet Create-A-Flavor Contest.

Annie's entry was one of more than nearly 1,000 submissions for the annual contest.

Along with receiving free ice cream for a year, Annie will sit on the Velvet Ice Cream tasting panel for a year and will have her photograph placed on the carton of Drama Queen Ice Cream, which will be produced in four-quart tubs.

Annie's entry stated: "It would be like the Superman ice cream for boys, but would have pink, purple and vanilla swirls with girly sprinkles like tiaras, magic wands, castles, purses, shoes, lipsticks, and nail polish bottles. I think girls my age would love it and it would be great for birthday parties or a day with Mom."

Velvet President Luconda Dager said Annie's entry was the runaway favorite of the judges. "It was so clever and well thought out," said Dager. "For production reasons, we had to substitute the 'girly sprinkles' with regular sprinkles, but we loved her ideas. She might have a future in the ice cream development business."

Annie attends Lakewood Middle School in Hebron, Ohio. She is a member of the sixth-grade chorus and takes tap dancing lessons.

Second place in the contest was won by Eliza Brisbin, 9, of Findlay, Ohio, who created Wild Blueberry Pie ice cream, which featured purple blueberry swirls, pieces of blueberries and pie crust.

Third place went to Trey Cummins, 10, of Utica, Ohio, who created Caramel Apple Crunch, which featured nuts, chunks of apples and swirls of caramel.

The runners up receive trophies and free ice cream for a year.

Velvet had nearly 1,000 entries for its annual contest. The entries arrived from all corners of the state and several schools submitted entries as class projects. The Cincinnati Children's Museum also posted applications. The types of entries ranged from candy bar-based ice cream to a funnel cake concoction that would make an ideal fair flavor.

Headquartered at Ye Olde' Mill in Utica, Ohio, Velvet Ice Cream has been a family owned and operated business for nearly 100 years. Founded in 1914 by family patriarch Joseph Dager, Velvet has been run by four generations of the Dager family. Each year, Velvet produces more than five million gallons of ice cream, which can be found in freezer cases throughout the Midwest. The historic Ye Olde' Mill, which houses the company headquarters, an ice cream museum and restaurant, attracts more than 150,000 visitors a year.

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CONTACT:
Robin Yocum
614.378.3286