Nearly one million images have been posted using the hashtag #coffeeinacone. Dayne Levinrad, from Johannesburg, South Africa said he launched this scrumptious looking concoction in January. Levinrad is the owner of his own Coffee company and prior to opening his own business worked as a digital marketing executive in Brazil, Australia, and the U.S.
This yummy looking dessert-coffee combines ice cream, coffee, and chocolate which all seem to be Instagram favorites, and is topped off with foaming milk in the shape of a heart.
Trial and error
It wasn't very long before the inventor realized he couldn't use ordinary ice cream cones.
Instead of using what was already on the market, he decided to make his own coffee containers in the shape of an Ice Cream Cone. Levinrad uses four layers of chocolate to reinforce the cone and adds different percentages of cocoa to each layer of coating inside.
Because the hot coffee would melt the cone it took a while for them to get it just right. But eventually they did, and after a few people experienced technical difficulties and more than a few spills, they finally found the recipe that worked.
Limited shelf life
Levinrad admits that because hot coffee is poured into a sugary cone it doesn't have a very long shelf life. The estimated time anyone has once they've poured their hot coffee into the cone is roughly 3three minutes.
He has since patented the concept and since putting it on Instagram it has become a food sensation. The inventor told CNN that they used the heatmap trending application in order to monitor where the tag #coffeeinacup traveled. They were amazed how quickly it had gone all over the world.
Not only an Instagram success
Coffee-in-a-Cone did not only have success with Instagram, but it was also put on the WhatsApp hotline for takeaway orders.
People are always snapping pictures and saying this new way to drink coffee is the best way to start the day. It also looks like the best way to have dessert!
Of course, Coffee-in-a-Cone is copied all over the world today, and if you browse the hashtag #coffeeinacone you'll get pics and different versions of the original concept from people all around the world.
Social media smarts
This new coffee sensation owes its success to Levinrad's understanding of and background in social media. Levinrad decided to create the #coffeeinacone hashtag so he could use that to become an Instagrammable product. Levinand was also smart enough to hire someone to keep an eye on a WhatsAp line dedicated to take-out orders and deliveries. He went from being a digital marketing executive to a successful entrepurner in six months thanks to social media.
