The Licktators was an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

manufacturing company in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that has been described by the department store

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...

as "more Sid and Nancy than Ben & Jerry".

Foundation

Licktators was founded by activist Matt O’Connor, founder of

Fathers 4 Justice Fathers 4 Justice (or F4J) is a fathers’ rights organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, the group aims to gain public and parliamentary support for changes in UK legislation on fathers' rights, mainly using stunts and protest ...

and formerly of The Icecreamists. He uses unusual flavours and textures to create his ice creams such as donated breast milk, bread, roses and absinthe. The company once served a three-course Sundae Lunch which featured pea, beef and horseradish flavours. The company gained notoriety in 2011 for its "Baby Gaga" breast milk ice cream, which is made with donated breast milk. In 2015 Licktators collaborated with the band Blur to create an ice cream flavour based on their album, ''

The Magic Whip ''The Magic Whip'' (stylised in Chinese text) is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's ...

''. The breast milk ice cream was launched in 2011 with the help of Victoria Hiley, a breastfeeding mother and advocate who answered an ad asking for breastmilk posted on Mumsnet, an online mothers' group. She donated 850 ml of breast milk which helped make the first 50 servings of ice cream. It was relaunched as "Royal Baby Gaga" in 2015 in celebration of the birth of

Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to: People * Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1694–1715), wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia and mother of Tsar Peter II, Emperor of Russia * Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (1700–1761), wife of ...

and to remind the

Duchess of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...

and mothers around the UK of the benefits of breastfeeding. Founder Matt O'Connor has been involved with ice cream for over 20 years. As a designer, he helped launch Vienneta and Magnum, and designed the packaging for Loseley ice cream. He studied flavour theory in Italy at Bologna’s Carigiani Gelato University. He works with Mark Broadbent, his chef and Alex Kammerling, a mixologist for

Grey Goose The waterfowl genus ''Anser'' includes the grey geese and the white geese. It belongs to the true geese and swan subfamily (Anserinae). The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in th ...

Legal troubles

In 2009, Licktators was threatened with legal action by the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

after the debut of "God Save the Cream" (a take-off of the 1977 Sex Pistols song,

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

) which contained a herbal Viagra-type ingredient. In March 2011, The Icecreamists ice cream parlour was ordered to stop selling the "Baby Gaga" breast milk ice cream by Westminster Council. After two complaints from members of the public and apprehension about the product on the part of the

Health Protection Agency The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It was an organisation that was set up by the UK government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and envi ...

and

Food Standards Agency , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Food Standards Agency.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , ...

, officials confiscated all ice cream that contained breast milk so that it could undergo testing for potential communicable pathogens contained in bodily fluids. O’Connor, however, insisted that the breast milk was screened and tested using the same processes that blood donor centres and breast milk banks use. The health protection agency ultimately permitted sale for human consumption. In 2015,

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

threatened to sue O’Connor for the use of her name in association with the "Baby Gaga" ice cream, claiming that he had used her name without consent. At that time it was renamed "Royal Baby Gaga" to commemorate the birth of Princess Charlotte, daughter of the then

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

. It was distributed in blue and pink tubs and showed the Duchess holding a baby, accompanied by a pink and blue British flag. He claimed the name was a reference to the sound that babies make.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Licktators, The Ice cream brands Dairy products companies of the United Kingdom Food manufacturers based in London Breast milk products