Toyota sells box of ice cream sandwiches for R$ 439 to promote Sienna accessory

Toyota has found an unconventional way to draw attention to a refrigerated compartment: selling ice cream. In partnership with the American ice cream parlor Graeter’s, the brand launched a box of ice cream sandwiches in the United States for US$ 86 — about R$ 439 in direct conversion, not counting shipping.

The US$ 86 is not the price of just one sandwich, but of the closed box with 12 units. Each serving costs something around R$ 37, which is still expensive for an ice cream, but much less scary than it may seem.

The product is called Salted Caramel Chip Wheels and is a repackaged version of a recipe from Graeter’s itself. There are two layers of chocolate chip cookies, salted caramel ice cream in the middle and sprinkles on the outside. They come with 12 individually wrapped sandwiches, of 113 grams each, sold only through the ice cream parlor’s website and while supplies last.

The refrigerator is the real protagonist

All the fun exists to promote an item from Sienna, Toyota’s hybrid minivan in the United States: the FridgeBox, a refrigerated compartment available in the top-of-the-line Platinum version. It has two modes, one for refrigeration and one for freezing — and it’s precisely the second that matters here.

According to Owen Peacock, a Toyota executive, the compartment offers families an unexpected way to make the trip more fun. In practice, the argument is simple: you can take ice cream in the car without it turning into a milkshake before arriving home after the children’s soccer game.

Weird marketing is Sienna’s

tradition Minivan carries the reputation of a straight vehicle, and Toyota’s American operation has never taken the label well. In 2010, the brand launched the “Swagger Wagon” campaign, in which a couple of parents rapped about the virtues of the car. In 2023, came the Sienna:Remix concept, with 60 speakers and a DJ booth that appeared when the roof opened.

The ice cream sandwich follows the same logic: a product that no one ordered, created to remind the consumer of a feature that he probably didn’t even know existed. The Sienna is not sold in Brazil, and the FridgeBox appears only in Platinum, the most expensive configuration of the line in the United States.