As I write this, summer is prevailing. You know how summer in Bangladesh can be; it’s way too hot, everyone is dehydrated, and the high humidity makes everyone sweat profusely. Another side effect of an extremely hot summer is the loss of appetite. The heat makes people want to eat less as body temperatures increase; this in turn causes diseases. All in all, summer is not something that I look forward to. 

However, amongst the few things that make summer tolerable is the endless amount of ice cream and ice lollies I can have without worrying about catching a serious bout of cold. Igloo, Polar, and Savoy all have great selections to choose from, but years ago Golden Harvest completely changed the game with their Bloop ice lollies. Yet now they are nowhere to be found. But why? What made the Bloop Ice lolly so great? And why don’t they bring it back? 

Three cheers for Bloop

The Bloop story began somewhere around 2017. Unlike most other Bangladeshi ice lollies on the market at that time, or frankly even since then, Bloop came in three distinct flavours: cola, mango and black currant. It was a welcome change from the monotonous lemon and orange ice lollies, which, in my opinion, just look different yet taste very similar. 

Yet it was not the flavours that got Bloop the place in my heart and memories it occupies; it’s the way they totally changed how we consumed ice lollies. Mainstream ice lollies from Igloo, Polar or any other company were made in the traditional way. It was a block of flavoured ice on a wooden stick in a packet. 

But Bloop were rebellious; they were creative. They set themselves apart by incorporating cylindrical paper-based packaging and a cylindrical block of flavoured ice. There was no wooden stick to hold it; you squeezed the packet and ate it from it. 

This was revolutionary, as the packet minimised wastage and worked as an appliance to hold the melted ice. This was done so that when the heat melted the lolly, you’d have a mini cooled juice waiting for you in that packet. There was no spillage, and you got the maximum amount of ice lolly for your money. 

The disappearance 

Truth be told, I hadn’t thought about Bloop ice cream for a long time. Especially from 2019 onwards to 2022, partially due to the pandemic and partially due to my board exams. However, one summer day I got hit with the realisation that I haven’t seen one of these ice lollies in a long time. 

So, I tried to find it in my local stores, but my search was in vain. I even tried contacting Golden Harvest themselves about it, sadly to no avail. It seemed that the ice lollies were discontinued and replaced by other ice creams made by Golden Harvest.

I couldn’t understand why it happened, why they discontinued such a revolutionary product. Although I do not have the numbers, I’m pretty sure the sales were going well too, and Golden Harvest is a profit-making organisation. Even a few days ago, I tried contacting them about this, but they didn’t reply. Not very good customer service if you ask me. 

#BringBackBloop

Along with Golden Harvest’s Bloop Ice cream lollies, Pran’s Banana Chips and Mimi Orange chocolates were some of the snacks that made up my childhood, as many others like me. In this time, where growing up seems scarier by the second as I am swamped with assignments, exams and presentations, I would like to experience my childhood again. 

I would like to go back to the time my friends and I would play football in the sun after school and have a bloop ice lolly afterwards as we argued about a goal which went over the makeshift goalpost we made with our schoolbags.

Bloop ice lolly is not just another ice cream for me; it symbolises a time in my life where I was free. I had no fear of responsibilities, and I couldn’t wait to grow up. Now that I have, I wish this ice lolly would act like a time machine, so please, bring it back.