An ice cream shop in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, has welcomed a brand new flavour onto its counter and it has punters baffled and amazed as it's been made with the high in demand and sell-out drink Prime created by media mogul KSI and Logan Paul, which has been hitting the headlines recently after it sold out in record time when it hit shelves.
Posting a photo of the ice cream with a Prime bottle tucked into its corner, family-run Zio's Gelateria - which has been trading in Barry Island since 2018 but whose connection to ice cream begins long before that, almost 100 years - announced the new flavour on Monday, February 6, and described the new 'Tropical Prime sorbet' as "Dairy free, vegan friendly and very tasty."
Speaking to Mariana, director of Zio's - which makes all ice-cream in house - she explains the flavour came about after seeing the sell-out trend of the KSI and Logan Paul's Prime drink and took the challenge on to make something around that.
She said: "So the view we have is, when you see things that are trending, we have a look and see if we can create things around it. We saw everyone was going bonkers for Prime and we just thought we'd give it a go.
"When we first opened [in 2018, we did] our unicorn flavour. At the time, everyone was loving unicorns and so we designed the unicorn ice cream. When Wales won the grand slam [in 2019] we did a fiery chocolate, we did a chilli chocolate.
"So it's that kind of thing that we're able to do cause we can make it [from scratch]. If it doesn't do that well, we can just not sell it."
Noting how Zio's,which Mariana runs with her Uncle (Zio in Italian), Tino, follows the latest trends and what's popular - "we keep an eye out and see what people are looking for and go from there" - Mariana explains how they managed to get hold of some Prime drinks, luckily, and by trial and error came up with the recipe that, since it's launch earlier this week, has had people flocking to the gelateria, with many asking specifiically for that flavour.
"It tastes just like the tropical Prime, it's quite refreshing. As long as we can get hold of the Prime and demand for it is high, it'll stay out there [on the counter]."
With the drink flying off shelves, it seems like the perfect way to get your Prime fix all whilst welcoming in the springtime - especially with a view over Barry Island's beautiful beach front.
The gelateria is run by the Zeraschi family, who have been making homemade gelato since 1928. Zio, as states the parlour's website, was supposedly inspired by his Nonno (Grandfather) who moved to Wales and sold his homemade ice cream around the Valleys at that time. In 1958 the family moved to Barry Island where they opened 'Piccolo Bar', bringing a "taste of Italy to the Welsh coast". And although the family have had chance to chase other dreams, Mariana - who primarily makes the ice cream - tells us that the family business has now come full circle with Zio's making a stamp in Barry with its homemade ice cream.
"Well, it started off my great grandfather made ice cream. And then obviously we went into other things and it's kind of gone full circle. We've - [Mariana and her uncle, Tino] - only been making ice cream since 2014 but before that it has been in our ancestry."
"It was always in the background of what we wanted to do. We wanted to make our own ice cream and have an ice cream parlour and we are fortunate that we can do it on Barry Island."
Fans of the ice cream parlour, which is a favourite not only for locals but the Gavin and Stacey cast too - according to its website - took to social media to express their excitement at this news.
One wrote: "How did you get enough to make it lol sound good though". Another said: " zach would love this from his favourite ice cream shop!" while a third took to Facebook to simply say: "Epic"
The flavour is available for Prime and gelato lovers alike from now.
The Prime drink garnered nationwide attention when it landed in the UK in December after being released in the US in early 2022. It claims it is a natural flavoured water that has 10% coconut water and contains electrolytes, BCAA (which is beneficial for muscle recovery) vitamins and antioxidants. It is also vegan-friendly and apparently contains zero sugar and comes in a variety of flavours.
The drink is part of a range of sports drinks, drink mixes and energy drinks created by Prime Hydration LLC and while it flew off shelves, people are going to extremes to get a bottle of the stuff with those who have bagged it selling it online for ten times the retail price.
We went on the hunt for a bottle of Prime at the start of the year and it proved to be more difficult than expected.
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