Chocolate egg nog? B.C. farm's Easter creation sells out in days

A dairy farm in B.C.'s Interior is selling chocolate egg nog to mark the Easter holidays — though those looking to try it might be out of luck.

While egg nog is traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations, Blackwell Dairy Farm in Kamloops, B.C. — about 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver — is hoping customers will be interested in a spring version of the drink, with a chocolate twist.

They've sold out in only a matter of days.

Laura Hunter, who runs the farm with her husband, said the idea came after employees started combining chocolate milk with egg nog and "just loved it."

"Everybody that they gave it to asked where they could get it and I'm like, 'We need to have fun with this, we need to put it out,'" she told CBC Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce.

"And Easter's the perfect time."

4,000 litres sold in days

Blackwell Farms provides milk products to about 70 grocery and convenience stores throughout B.C.'s Thompson-Nicola and Okanagan regions.

They initially stocked the chocolate egg nog on March 24 and were completely sold out in two days, Hunter said, prompting them to ramp up production with more jugs hitting shelves this week. These, too, have since sold out, for a total of 4,000 litres or 2,000 individual cartons.

A few stores still have the product coming their way, so people hoping to get some might get the chance to try it.

Ken Evans, a manager at Gourmet Greens Produce in Kamloops, said customers were coming into the store to ask about the drink even before it was available. 

"Anytime egg nog is available, people want it, and this is unique," he said.

Given the hype, Evans said he sampled the drink as soon as it arrived. He said he was pleasantly surprised, describing it as "kind of intense" but "pretty good, actually," with an even blend of egg nog and chocolate flavour.

Hunter says she expected people to like the drink, but she didn't expect such a level of success.

"We have had an overwhelming response," she said.

Blackwell isn't the only company trying to bring back egg nog to the shelves for Easter: Dairyland, a B.C.-based company that sells products throughout Canada, has been raising eyebrows with its Easter-themed egg nog boxes this year.

And in 2015, the Illinois-based Prairie Farms Dairy made headlines after selling egg nog flavoured with the marshmallow Easter candy Peeps.

Hunter, however, says she believes Blackwell may be the first company to commercially produce chocolate egg nog — though after this season's success, she expects others to follow their lead next year.

"We're trendsetters," she said.