Creating a late-night ice cream brand worth craving
Before 2022, Insomnia Cookies offered ice cream sourced from more than a dozen providers across the U.S.—resulting in an inconsistent customer experience, both in flavor and availability. Recognizing the need for cohesion and brand ownership, we set out to create something entirely new: a proprietary line of ice cream that complemented our warm, late-night cookies while laying the groundwork for a potential future in retail CPG.
As a key partner throughout the product development phase (and with the waistline to prove it), I worked closely with our culinary and R&D teams to taste, test, and refine dozens of flavor concepts. Ultimately, we landed on a portfolio of twelve indulgent flavors that paired perfectly with our cookie menu, incorporating our signature ingredients and playful attitude.
From there, I led brand strategy and creative development in partnership with our agency, Adjective & Co., to bring the vision to life. Our goals were clear:
Create a distinct sub-brand that could eventually live independently in grocery retail
Capture the essence of Insomnia—bold, crave-worthy, and unapologetically indulgent
Design for innovation and growth, with a visual identity that welcomed limited-edition drops and seasonal flavors
The result was Cookies IN Ice Cream—a name and identity that told you exactly what you were getting and why you couldn’t resist. Bold flavor names, dynamic packaging, and a tone of voice that matched our brand’s late-night DNA made this launch stand out in a crowded category.
The Launch Campaign
We rolled out the new brand nationwide in summer 2022 with a robust 360° campaign that spanned owned, earned, and paid channels:
Owned media: Coordinated email, SMS, in-app messaging, and dynamic content across all social platforms (with a heavy focus on Instagram and TikTok)
Earned media: Press and influencer seeding kits featuring first-taste samples and playful swag, resulting in coverage from top-tier outlets and organic unboxing content
Paid media: Geo-targeted paid social and mobile ads driving foot traffic to stores, with creative focused on flavor visuals and cookie pairings
Results:
+35% YoY increase in ice cream sales within the first two months of launch
Strengthened brand equity and menu consistency across 200+ locations
Positioned Cookies IN Ice Cream as a viable standalone brand for future retail expansion
This initiative not only unified our dessert offerings but reinforced Insomnia’s identity as an innovator in indulgence. It proved that our brand could stretch into new categories—without losing its flavor.