A Sparkly, Sweet Collaboration Between Katy Perry and McConnell’s

California (and Santa Barbara) “Gurl” Katy Perry is lighting up both the stage and scoop shops these days with a new ice cream collaboration with McConnell’s: “Baby, You’re a Firework Blue Raspberry.”

The special limited-edition flavor is a colorful creation indeed, taking direct inspiration from one of Perry’s biggest hit songs, with “even brighter than the moon” blue raspberry ice cream, “ignite the light” raspberry jam, and “let your colors burst” rainbow sprinkles.

“We wanted to have fun with this limited-run flavor while maintaining the quality we’re known for — using fresh raspberries, creating homemade raspberry jam to swirl within, and always made 100 percent from scratch using grass-fed milk and cream at McConnell’s Family Dairy in Santa Barbara,” shared McConnell’s CEO Michael Palmer.

When asked how the collaboration came about, Palmer said, “This partnership with Katy Perry is a special one for us, and began with a shared connection to Santa Barbara, where Katy grew up and where McConnell’s has been rooted for 75 years. Katy grew up frequenting her nearby McConnell’s scoop shop and has always had a special connection to our ice cream; it felt like a natural fit.”

As Perry shared on social media, “Some of my family’s favorite memories have been biking to my local McConnell’s shop in Santa Barbara to grab a cone together. To now have the opportunity to create my own ice cream flavor with them feels like a full-circle moment!” 

“What makes this partnership particularly meaningful is the opportunity to support Katy’s Firework Foundation [fireworkfoundation.org], which aligns with our emphasis on community, and empowers children from underserved communities through meaningful exposure to the arts and outdoors,” said Palmer.

The Firework Foundation, which Katy and her sister, Angela Hudson Lerche, founded in 2018 and operate together, runs sleep-away Camp Firework for kids and also supports a number of community organizations and nonprofits, including MOXI, Boys & Girls Clubs, Santa Barbara Foundation, Baby2Baby, and Cold Springs School District. 

In terms of the McConnell’s flavor itself, now available in scoops shops and at mcconnells.com, Palmer said, “It’s been a fun process working with Katy and her sister, Angela, to develop this unique flavor, inspired by the Firework Foundation’s mission to empower children by igniting their inner light through the arts. The blue-raspberry base of our flavor, loaded with rainbow sprinkles and red raspberry jam, and colored naturally with spirulina, represents the colors of the Firework Foundation camp pillars (Fearless, Inspire, Reflect, Experience, Wellness, Openness, Role Modeling, and Kindness). We also wanted the flavor to be as bright and colorful as Katy herself.”

Ten percent of all proceeds from “Baby, You’re a Firework Blue Raspberry” sales will benefit the Firework Foundation. “Just like our ingredients, we love keeping it local,” said Palmer. “And collaborating with someone who shares that same appreciation for community made this even more worthwhile.”