For just LL 10,400, the Lebanese can get a chance to taste the country’s recent “reconciliation” thanks to American ice-cream giant Häagen Dazs’s promotion, the Doha Agreement Cone. The limited edition cone is the result of a joint venture between Häagen Dazs’s Lebanon office and Qatar Airways.

Launched to celebrate the message of “love and peace,” the cone is something of a thank you note to Qatar, one Häagen Dazs employee, who preferred to withhold his name, explains. Qatari expats and visitors, he observed, are particularly ecstatic about the cone, as are the franchise’s regular Lebanese consumers.

This is the first time Häagen Dazs, Lebanon, has offered a promotion reflecting the country’s political situation, though the chain often has special offers during other celebrations, such as on Valentine’s Day and Christmas.

Three scoops introducing new and exclusive Häagen Dazs flavors – raspberries and meringue, and summer berries and cream – are layered with fresh raspberries, topped with a mint leaf in the shape of a cedar and finished with whipped cream. The red, white and green ingredients are a nod to the colors of the Lebanese flag, while the Qatari flag too can be found in the advertisement. 

Testament to its popularity, in ABC Achrafieh's chain, approximately 10-20 cones are sold per day. “The ice cream is tasty and reflects the positive atmosphere,” said the employee. The Doha Agreement, he said, came at a fitting time, particularly as the new flavors were about to be launched and because it is the beginning of the summer season. It is a serious message though, he added, and Häagen Dazs would not have gone to so much trouble if it wasn’t. 

Hanan, a Häagen Dazs lover who takes often takes her three-year-old son, Ryan, to the ice-cream store, told NOW Lebanon that she is skeptical about the cone and that, in principle, she refuses to purchase it. “The idea is just outrageous… it’s just a marketing tool, using the Lebanese people’s joy to make money… plus it has nothing to do with the Doha Agreement, except that it has this little cedar on it,” she lamented.

Launched shortly after the brokering of the agreement, the cone is being offered in Häagen Dazs’ ABC and down town stores. The promotion is expected to last for as long as the mood in the country remains one of reconciliation, or, at least until the politicians “start fighting again,” concluded the member of staff.