Purple Cow is a brand of the Midwest-based supermarkets called Meijer. The brand name of the ice cream came from a humorous poem that Fred Meijer, a co-founder of the stores, would read to his boys. The poem read as follows:
I never saw a Purple Cow I never hope to see one But I can tell you anyhow I would rather see than be one -Gelett Burgess, 1895
Purple Cow was first used as the name of the ice cream counter found at Meijer stores starting in the 1960s which served hand dipped cones. Today, many Meijer shoppers recognize the Purple Cow name from being on cartons of ice cream sold down the ice cream aisle at the stores.
Purple Cow Ice Cream Flavor List
Here is what Meijer has to offer under its Purple Cow brand of ice cream. Some of its noteworthy flavors are Candy Bar Overload, Moose Tracks, Scooperman (A type of Superman ice cream), and Mackinac Island Fudge.
- Birthday Cake – White Cake Flavored Ice Cream + Blue Frosting Swirl + Sequin Candies
- Black Cherry – Black Cherry Flavored Ice Cream + Black Cherries
- Brownie Fudge Swirl – Chocolate Ice Cream + Fudge Swirl + Brownie Bits
- Butter Pecan – Butter Pecan Ice Cream
- Butter Pecan (No Sugar Added) – Light Butter Pecan Ice Cream
- Candy Bar Overload – Caramel Ice Cream w/ Swirls of Nougat + Chocolate & Caramel Coated Peanuts
- Caramel Caribou – Salty Toffee Ice Cream + Salty Caramel Cups + Denali Salty Caramel
- Chocolate – Chocolate Ice Cream
- Chocolate Chip – Vanilla Ice Cream + Chocolate Flavored Chips
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – Cookie Dough Flavored Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Chunks & Chocolate Flavored Flakes
- Cookies & Cream – Vanilla Ice Cream + Chocolate Cookie Pieces
- Chocolate & Peanut Butter – Chocolate Ice Cream w/ Peanut Butter Swirls
- Death By Chocolate – Chocolate Ice Cream w/ Fudge Swirls + Chocolate Flavored Flakes
- Extra Chocolate Moose Tracks – Chocolate Ice Cream + Moose Tracks Fudge-Filled Cups + Moose Tracks Fudge
- French Vanilla – French Vanilla
- Golden Vanilla
- Mackinac Island Fudge – Vanilla Ice Cream + Fudge Swirls + Chocolate Flavored Chunks
- Mint Chocolate Chip – Mint Flavored Ice Cream + Chocolate Chips
- Mint Moose Tracks – Mint Ice Cream + Mint Cups + Moose Tracks Fudge
- Moose Tracks – Vanilla Ice Cream + Peanut Butter Cups + Moose Tracks Fudge
- Moose Tracks (Light Churned) – Vanilla Light Ice Cream w/ Peanut Butter Cups + Moose Tracks Fudge
- Neapolitan – Vanilla Ice Cream + Chocolate Ice Cream + Strawberry Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Cup – Peanut Butter Ice Cream + Fudge Swirl + Mini Peanut Butter Cups
- Praline Pecan – Caramel Ice Cream w/ Caramel Swirls + Praline Pecans
- Sea Salt Fudge Brownie – Vanilla Ice Cream w/ Salty Fudge Swirl + Sea Salt Fudge Brownie Bits
- Scooperman – Vanilla Ice Cream + Blue Moon Ice Cream + Black Cherry Ice Cream
- Strawberry – Strawberry Ice Cream
- Strawberry Cheesecake – Cheesecake Ice Cream w/ Strawberry Swirls + Graham Crunch
- Strawberry Graham Swirl – Strawberry Flavored Ice Cream + Strawberries & Graham Cracker Swirl
- Sprinkle Swirl – White Chocolate Flavored Ice Cream + Frosting Swirls + Colorful Candies
- Traverse City Cherry (Limited Edition) – Cherry Flavored Ice Cream w/ Cherry Pieces + Fudge Swirl
- Vanilla – Vanilla Ice Cream
- Vanilla Bean – Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Vanilla (Light Churned) – Light Churned-Style Vanilla Ice Cream
- Vanilla (No Sugar Added) – Light Vanilla Ice Cream
Is Purple Cow Ice Cream Good?
Purple Cow is a budget-friendly ice cream brand. At the Meijer near The Dairy Dish, this ice cream was selling for $2.99 per carton (48 fl. oz. or 1.5 qt.). This is quite the bargain given there are several premium brands selling for $4.00 and above.
However, given its bargain/store brand status, is this really a good tasting ice cream?
Through the years we have purchased several flavors of this ice cream on occasion. Most recently we purchased the mint chocolate chip flavor.
We’d say that the taste of this ice cream is about what you’d expect from a store brand. It’s not the best ice cream you will have but its certainly won’t disappoint many palates. In other words, we think it’s good value option that is comparable to other store brands.
Let’s compare the ingredients of Meijer’s Purple Cow Mint Chocolate Chip to Breyer’s Mint Chocolate, a popular name brand ice cream.
As you can see below, Purple Cow contains many more ingredients compared to Breyer’s. Some ingredients in the Purple Cow ice cream, such as artificial dyes and carrageenan, are undesirable to many people due to their potential health effects.
Purple Cow Mint Chocolate Chip
- Milk
- Cream
- Sugar
- Buttermilk
- Whey
- Corn Syrup
- Coconut Oil
- Skim Milk
- Cocoa Processes with Alkali
- Cocoa
- Vanilla Extract
- Natural Flavors
- Mono and Diglycerides
- Carob Bean Gum
- Guar Gum
- Tara Gum
- Carrageenan
- Soy Lecithin
- Cellulose Gel
- Cellulose Gum
- Yellow 5
- Blue 1
Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip
- Milk
- Cream
- Sugar
- Coconut Oil
- Whey
- Dutched Cocoa (Processed with Alkali)
- Vegetable Gum (Tara)
- Natural Flavor
- Soy Lecithin
Final Thoughts
While you’ll pay a lower price for Purple Cow, you’ll have to ask yourself if it is worth it given its inferior ingredients to other premium brands. We tend to buy the store brands like Purple Cow when we can’t find the premium brands on sale but, of course, everyone has their own preference when it comes to buying ice cream. Overall, Purple Cow has many desirable flavors that are certainly worth a try if you aren’t picky about ingredients.