New ice cream season in Germany: will bring health--and indulgence: R&R and Langnese both letting out all the stops to broaden markets.

The Ed von Schleck Strudel assortment, meanwhile, is out with a limited Simpson edition geared to the 2008 European Football Championships. Bart appears on the package and on collectible tokens wearing his soccer gear and kicking a ball. Ed von Schleck appears to be a pun on the name of Eduard Ritter von Schleich, a German air ace of World War I. "Schleck" translates more or less as something that is enjoyable to lick, as the kids hopefully find this product.

The sticks on some of the new kids' items are more than just pieces of wood that you throw away. On the Girlie 2 they contain make-up for trendy young beauty queens, while on Shoots they double as a pea shooter with a supply of ammunition. Girlie 2, a successor to the successful Girlie, is of star-shaped, glazed strawberry fruit ice with white sugar pearls. Shoots is circular with concentric rings of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream in the form of a target.

Another item for children appeals to their sense of the gruesome. Kolorki Vampire, purple water ice with an eerie red strawberry filling, will color their tongues blood red. If they prefer yellow or orange tongues they can do it with the help, respectively, of the pineapple or orange flavored Vampire. The colors are guaranteed natural. The Calippo Refresh, finally, does what it claims to do with a lemon-pineapple fruit ice and a touch of mint.

Multipacks Highly Popular

Boxes full of impulse items are growing in popularity, with Nielsen reporting that multipacks have increased their market share by 2.1%. And Langnese is having further success by presenting assortments within the multipack.

The Kids Kiosk gives the youngsters a wide-ranging variety. It contains two Plattfusses, "fiat feet" with a huge, chocolate-covered toe. There are also two of the refreshing Capri ices in the box, and four of the tongue-coloring Kolorki water ices in two different flavors. The Cornetto Family box, meanwhile, is full of cones; two each of the regular-sized vanilla, strawberry and chocolate cones, and a couple of hazelnut and caramel mini cones.

The Magnum Mini Classic and the Magnum Mini Double offer six coated ice cream treats in a newly redesigned package: two each of White, Almond and Classic in the former; three each of Caramel and Chocolate in the latter. Finally, there is the Milchzeit Coole Kuh; six creamy chocolate and vanilla milk ices on a stick, representing a "cool cow's" brown and white hide. It's billed as a good way to get the kids to increase their milk consumption.

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By TED SHOEMAKER and JOHN M. SAULNIER

Reported from Osnabruck, Hamburg and Frankfurt