Mike De Socio is reporting for the Albany Business Review in late July, Stewart's Shops will be offering a new product in all of its stories — pint-sized containers of a nondairy, vegan ice cream. The frozen treat will come in one flavor, chocolate peanut butter cup, a coconut-chocolate base with peanut butter swirl. Stewart's is not ready to say how much the pint will cost, but it is expected to be priced higher than what the upstate chain charges for traditional ice cream, but less than other nondairy brands. The new product has been in development for about a year, according to a company spokesperson. Stewart's fielded hundreds of requests for the product on its customer service line, on social media and at the stores, and chose chocolate peanut butter cup as its first flavor based on the results of a taste testing with a panel of people who eat dairy and people who do not. Nondairy ice cream is increasingly popular across the country, with sales growing 50 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to Nielsen. Globally, it is expected to become a billion-dollar industry by 2024. Read the full story in the Albany Business Review.