Why Don't They Have This in America?

This may well be in America soon - So, you saw it here first!  This is not just a yellow popsicle.  This is the most exciting frozen ice cream treat I've ever seen.  The sort of thing that makes me remember the first time I saw Super Mario with a bubble gum nose on the side of the ice cream man's truck.  This, my friends, is a peelable banana! As Nestlé's press release states, "Many would think that a peelable ice cream is unbelievable." Believe it. 

We first saw these in a gas station cooler in Serbia and I didn't buy one because I'd recently gone on an "avoid sugar" diet to combat culturally experiential dessert eating and the forthcoming gelato season. Since then, I've dubbed bananas "nature's ice cream cone," because any time Merlin buys ice cream, I grab a banana from a fruit stand and convince myself that it's as good as frozen, flavored dairy on a cone.  How ironic.  Anyway, it's been almost two months since Serbia and in cooler after cooler, I've searched for that banana popsicle. Does it peel? The package sure makes it look like it does. I'm not eating ice cream, but if that shows up I simply have to try. Investigative research. I'd nearly forgotten about it when it popped up in Montenegro.

The treat is called Pirulo Jungly, 'Pirulo' being one of many Nestlé brands and 'Jungly' being a terrible name.  According to the cartoon monkey on European Nestlé's website, you're supposed to peel the skin with your teeth. I used my fingers. Even if I'd known the decorum, I still would have - because the intrigue was always finding out what the heck the peel was made of. Gotta investigate with as many senses as possible. It felt like gummy bear and tasted like Jello. I'd say, it's Jello. Inside, the stick of banana flavored ice cream was delicious. Apparently, Jungly was introduced in February of 2010 as "Eskimo Monkey" in Thailand and then rolled out in Asian and then European countries in 2011. As far as I can tell, it's not yet available in America. Which begs the question - Why don't they have this in America (yet)?