BLACKSBURG (WDBJ) – Looking to escape the summer heat? Virginia Tech has a tip for you.

Hokie Nation is offering two new ways to cool off this summer as the newest flavors from Virginia Tech and Homestead Creamery’s cool ice cream collaboration are hitting grocery stores, restaurants, ice cream parlors and specialty shops across Virginia.

According to a press release:

Reminiscent of the creaminess of Homestead’s classic French vanilla ice cream, HokieBerry Trail features 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 crunchy bits. A hint of sun-kissed mango tangerine gives it a refreshing fruity bite and its signature burnt orange color.

Like Hokie Tracks — the first licensed ice cream Born from the creamy collaboration of Virginia Tech and Homestead – these new flavors were developed by University of Agricultural and Life Sciences‘ Department of Food Science and Technology Faculty members and alumni Joell Eifert ’88, MS ’14 and Brian Wiersema ’98 work in partnership with Homestead’s team.

“The success of Hokie Tracks has exceeded our expectations and now we are really excited to introduce these two new flavors to the public,” said Joell Eifert. “We worked really hard to make sure they embody Virginia Tech in every way,” Eifert said.

The team members’ first ice cream was so well received that they were completely unprepared. According to Eifert, they only realized this when the CEO of a popular regional supermarket chain contacted them after the tasting and asked them to offer the legendary milk dessert in his stores.

“We’ve been developing these two new flavors for quite a long time – they’ve become a passion project for Joell and me – and each of them says something about us,” said Brian Wiersema.

When the team set out to develop the successor to Hokie Tracks, members came up with three ideas that guided the development of the ice cream’s flavor profile: They wanted refreshing, fruity flavors and to represent the classic Virginia Tech colors of Chicago maroon and burnt orange, and they wanted to create something that consumers couldn’t yet buy.

“What says summer more than fresh fruit?” Eifert said. “We also wanted to focus on flavors that highlight our colors while also being something unusual that people don’t see in stores.”

This cold collaboration doesn’t just benefit those who enjoy high-quality frozen treats. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all three flavors goes to support food science education by funding scholarships, student product development teams, lab supplies and more in the Department of Food Science and Technology – a program that is regularly recognized as one of the best food science institutions in the country for its focus on experiential learning and its nearly 100 percent placement rate.

Eifert said the department will award its first student scholarships in the summer of 2025, funded entirely by proceeds from Hokie Tracks sales.

“I hope that people who buy our ice cream know that a portion of the proceeds actually go back into academia and help our students do things they might not normally be able to do,” Wiersema said. “Experiential learning and studying abroad opens up new perspectives and opportunities for discovery.”

The new label designs for the pint containers of 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 sunset over mountain silhouettes, reminiscent of the Appalachian sunset that both Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus and Homestead experience every night. The HokieBerry Trail label features topographical lines surrounding a dotted trail, a reference to the Huckleberry Trail in Blacksburg, which 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.

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