Häagen-Dazs Boosting Honey Bee Research at UC Davis: There's a Concerto for That!

Honey bee on almond. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

There's an app for that. More specifically, there's a concerto for that.

And it all deals with the Häagen-Dazs premier ice cream brand supporting bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis.

This is one business that's very concerned about the worldwide declining bee population.  One-third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees. Häagen-Dazs ice cream is dependent upon bees--some 50 percent of its flavors are bee-dependent. 

Häagen-Dazs is a longtime and generous supporter of UC Davis bee research. Background: in 2009 the brand launched the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly and educational garden planted next to the Laidlaw facility on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus.  It's a year-around food source for the Laidlaw bees and other pollinators. It provides an educational opportunity for visitors; they learn about the plight of the bees, and what they can plant in their own gardens to feed the bees.

Häagen-Dazs also funded the Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis. It went to Michelle Flenniken, an insect virus researcher based at UC San Francisco. She's now a research assistant professor at Montana State University.

So, first a bee garden and then a fellowship for a scientist to study bee diseases. And now...drum roll...the Häagen-Dazs Concerto Timer app. 

Häagen-Dazs officials today announced the introduction of the Häagen-Dazs Concerto Timer app, described as "the first iOS mobile app to integrate detailed 3D Kinect technology and video data that delivers a cutting edge augmented reality experience."

According to a press release, “The Concerto Timer app features two-minute-long music concertos that help consumers understand the exact amount of time needed to prepare their Häagen-Dazs ice cream in order to get the full, rich consistency and allow all the flavors to fully bloom. Allowing the ice cream to soften slightly – also called tempering – for two minutes enhances the texture and exposes fans to the craftsmanship of premium ingredients that is characteristic of Häagen-Dazs ice cream, gelato, sorbet and frozen yogurt."

So, basically, you download the free app, open your freezer and remove the Häagen-Dazs product,  set it on your counter, and point your I-Phone at the lid of the cartoon. Voila! Two minutes of concerto music! Just the right amount of time to have your ice cream soften.

Now here's the good news for the bees: for every download, Häagen-Dazs will donate $5 to UC Davis bee research, up to $75,000.

Now that's a sweet gift!

Said Cady Behles, Häagen-Dazs brand manager: “The app concept came directly from our brand loyalists who recognized the necessity of tempering to enjoy all of the flavors in our ice cream. We took their feedback and developed an advanced mobile experience – something never seen before in the ice cream industry – that would be functional and also entertain them during the optimal time period.”

Developed by creative agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and digital production company JAM3, the Häagen-Dazs Concerto Timer app is now available for download in the iTunes App Store.

The video begins with the text: "Just as wine needs to breathe, Haagen-Dazs ice cream needs to soften for two minutes. Now there’s a concerto  for that."

Check out the online video at http://www.multivu.com/mnr/62528-haagen-dazs-mobile-concerto-timer-app-classical-music-preparing-ice-cream and read about the app. You can download the app from I-Tunes. 

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, home of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility and the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven thanks you; the bees thank you; and somewhere Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. (1907-2003), the father of honey bee genetics who devoted his entire life to the study of bees, must be smiling.

Sweet music indeed!

(Editor's Note: You can also donate to UC Davis bee research by accessing this page.)