Ben & Jerry’s, a Vermont Original

I can still taste the creamy strawberry Ben & Jerry’s that tickled my tastebuds on a cold February afternoon.
It wasn’t an ‘ice cream’ day, but then Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just ice cream. Known as a Vermont Original the quirky names and flavors have an appeal that make Hagen Daz seem pretentious. Vermont churns out small unique home-grown companies that frequently become mega-stars almost as fast as Ben & Jerry’s churns out their heavenly concoctions. The birthplace of Burton Snowboards and Jog-bra©, the Green Mountain State rivals Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit. Even the Keurig cups I order online are from Green Mountain Coffee of Waterbury Vermont.

Recently a company called VerMints, makers of all natural mints and pastilles, got a smack on the hand and a requirement to change their packaging. They did originate in Vermont, but long after moving production to Canada and their business offices to Massachusetts, they neglected to correct the misperception that they were a Vermont company. I couldn’t find a picture of the new ‘truth in advertising’ package. It probably looks a lot like the old one, but now plastered on the front label of the charming little boxes is the phrase: Produced in Canada.

I could have told them this would all end badly.
They should have watched Perry Mason.
I can still hear the oath:
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

http://www.amazon.com/VerMints-Natural-WinterMints-1-41-Ounce-Tins/dp/B000LKVT1I

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