Sweeter Than Fiction: Ice cream store offers Taylor Swift-inspired flavors

May 17—If Taylor Swift's song "Karma" had an ice cream flavor, Ripleigh Maring thinks it would taste like honeycomb. "Bad Blood" would be a red velvet cake, and "Love Story" would inevitably have a wedding cake flavor.

With her own creameries in Emmitsburg and McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, Maring was able to make those frozen treats a reality.

"I know a lot of people love Taylor Swift, so I was able to incorporate that into my ice cream and make it really fun," Maring said.

The 16-year-old featured eight Taylor Swift inspired ice cream flavors, dubbed the Eras Collection, at the Ripleigh's Creamery in both locations from April 15 to May 14.

Ripleigh's Creamery specializes in adventurous flavors and fearless combinations, like Mango Sriracha and Old Bay Kettle Corn. The Eras Collection was a special homage to Taylor Swift — an artist Maring has loved since she was a child — and her Eras Tour, which kicked off March 17 in Arizona and makes its way throughout the country before wrapping up on Aug. 9 in Los Angeles.

"I've always loved her music. It's always just something I can go back to and listen to," she said. "And she is such an inspiring woman ... I go to her concerts ... and I just see how she can easily make so many people light up."

For the Swift-inspired flavors, in addition to the ones created for "Karma," "Bad Blood" and "Love Story," there was a lemonade lavender flavor for the song "Lavender Haze," a brownie batter caramel chunk for "Look What You Made Me Do" and hibiscus pineapple for "Wildest Dreams." Two flavors included alcohol: "Feeling 22," with White Claw black cherry Italian ice flavor, and "Calm Down" was a strawberry margarita Italian ice.

When conceptualizing the flavors, Maring, her mom, Laura, and others sat around and watched Taylor Swift music videos and reviewed the lyrics of songs for flavor inspirations.

"The lyrics of 'Karma' is 'so sweet, like honey,' so that's where our honeycomb ice cream is from," Maring said.

The event was a build up for when Swift performed in Philadelphia on May 12 through 14.

The promotion didn't just feature the flavors. The whole event was for those who can't go to an Eras Tour concert, so they could still experience it in some way, Laura said. "The tickets for Taylor are so incredibly expensive, and everyone's really grateful to be there, but not everybody can afford to be there," she said.

Tickets to see Swift in concert are over $1,000, a struggle fans know all too well.

Ripleigh got red heart sunglasses for her staff, along with Taylor Swift shirts that say things like "Who's Taylor Swift?" that they wore on the weekends. She also hung a flag with "Taylor Swift for president 2024" emblazoned across it.

Ripleigh traveled to Tampa, Florida, before the ice cream event for a concert to buy Eras merchandise and give it away through different promotions. That way, people could still get a piece of the Eras Tour if they couldn't go, she said.

The creameries became a testing ground for the concert outfits people were planning to wear at upcoming Swift concerts.

"The tour is super crazy with Eras," Laura said. "Everybody's all dressed up, everybody dresses up from a different [Taylor Swift] era, everyone's all blinged out and exchanging friendship bracelets, the makeup is on point with gems."

Maring and her mom have also spent many nights making friendship bracelets, a meaningful token for Swifties. At concerts, people trade and collect friendship bracelets. Maring herself has collected three from Swift concerts.

"Hopefully we can have some people who maybe are going to Pittsburgh or the Philly concert and can take some of our bracelets and trade or just, you know, have a whole tour experience here if they're not able to get to before," Maring said.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel