Is Ice Cream Stepping Out Of Its Consolation Zone?

Who desires ice cream? Properly, if we have a look at international ice cream consumption, the reply is: virtually everybody! In line with Mintel’s shopper analysis, 9 in ten UK customers loved an ice cream between July and October 2023, and an virtually equivalent quantity was seen in Germany. Frozen treats are additionally omnipresent in freezers throughout the pond, with over 94% of US adults buying ice cream, frozen novelties or frozen yogurt in 2023.

It’s clear that ice cream stays as well-liked as ever, and the worldwide ice cream business is in good well being. Ice cream remains to be loved primarily as a consolation meals for a lot of customers. Within the US, round 9 in ten ice cream customers agree that consuming ice cream brings pleasure after they want a pickup, highlighting the product’s well-established position as an ‘emotional assist meals’ for customers. Nevertheless, shopper calls for are altering: customers’ elevated concentrate on wholesome consuming has led to extra scrutiny of meals with historically excessive sugar and fats content material. Equally within the APAC area, there may be a requirement for better-for-you substances and formulations. Naturally, it’s important that ice cream manufacturers reply to shopper demand to keep away from customers turning elsewhere for a candy deal with. On this article, we look at the ice cream shopper traits shaping the business, and the way manufacturers are responding with ice cream innovation.

Consolation meals is a meals that customers flip to in occasions of stress that gives a way of emotional well being and wellbeing. Sometimes, consolation meals are excessive in fats or sugar, energy-dense, and will have comparatively low dietary worth. Widespread consolation meals embody crisps, chocolate, and naturally, ice cream.

The previous few years have been a boon for well-liked consolation meals, with customers experiencing the heightened stress and nervousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, after which adopted by ongoing financial crises. The ice cream business was significantly well-placed to profit from rising costs and excessive inflation because of the lipstick impact. Ice cream’s positioning as an reasonably priced deal with appeals to customers throughout occasions of financial disaster.

Nevertheless, because the pandemic, Mintel has discovered there was a international shift in direction of extra health-conscious consuming. Ice cream manufacturers have due to this fact discovered themselves in a little bit of a quandary. Do they take inspiration from the plant-based business, embrace dairy alternate options, and concentrate on making a more healthy various to historically indulgent ice cream? Or do they dial up the indulgence, and closely lean into the consolation meals fame? The reply isn’t a easy one. Mintel’s shopper analysis has discovered that it’s unlikely that ice cream may ever set up itself as a really wholesome meals, even amongst customers who’re actively on the lookout for wholesome ice cream: 1 / 4 of Indian customers who’re prepared to pay extra for more healthy ice cream imagine that ice cream can by no means be wholesome. In consequence, ice cream wants to supply permissible indulgence to customers, placing a steadiness between well being and indulgence. 

Whereas diet just isn’t a prime precedence when shopping for ice lotions, virtually 1 / 4 of US customers are occupied with ice cream with practical well being advantages. Manufacturers are properly positioned to develop ice cream’s fame as a practical meals by concentrating on younger customers who’re eager on excessive protein merchandise, or take inspiration from the booming power drinks sector, and supply a a lot sought-after power kick to customers. Though the practical ice cream market stays fairly small, it’s rising. Mintel’s GNPD information exhibits that ice cream product launches with practical claims elevated by 10% between 2021-2023, highlighting that it’s one thing manufacturers needs to be contemplating in the case of new product improvement.

Useful substances and added well being advantages are usually not the one new options drawing important shopper curiosity within the international ice cream business. Shoppers are getting extra adventurous, at the very least in the case of new flavours and textures. Mintel has discovered that there’s a rising curiosity in unconventional ice cream flavours.

Within the APAC area, floral flavours have been gaining curiosity, and half of Thai customers aged 25-34 are occupied with attempting these flavours. Curiosity can also be rising in different non-traditional flavour profiles, equivalent to savoury, which, in keeping with Mintel’s GNPD information, has seen a rise of over 50% in new product launches since 2021. Nevertheless, regardless of this rising curiosity, non-traditional flavours stay fairly area of interest. As demonstrated within the graph under, floral and savoury flavours had been every solely represented in and fewer than 1% of all international ice cream product launches in 2023. Nonetheless, manufacturers mustn’t low cost shopper curiosity in flavour experimentation, and within the coming years ought to utilise AI to create new and customised style experiences for customers.

Regardless of the rising want for novelty, customers proceed to take pleasure in conventional ice cream flavours, equivalent to strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. Nearly two-thirds of UK adults agree that there needs to be extra high-quality ice cream in traditional flavours. This curiosity in larger high quality traditional flavours illustrates how customers need the consolation of familiarity but in addition need enhancements to style and texture high quality on the similar time. Ice cream manufacturers also needs to innovate by placing a twist on acquainted flavours to maintain customers engaged. This may be accomplished by embracing an previous pal: nostalgia.

If you need to study extra concerning the newest trending flavours within the ice cream business, strive Mintel’s Flavourscape AI.

Nostalgia is considerably influencing the worldwide ice cream business; customers throughout varied areas are drawn to flavours and types that remind them of their childhood or previous. Within the UK, consuming ice lotions that evoke childhood reminiscences resonates extensively with customers, significantly these underneath 35, suggesting that advertising and marketing centered on nostalgia could be extremely efficient on this market. But it surely’s not simply customers within the UK who’re trying again to the ‘good previous days’. In India, ice cream manufacturers are connecting with customers via nostalgic flavours, significantly concentrating on older Millennials with seasonal fruit flavours, and in Germany, eight in 10 customers say that they take pleasure in rediscovering flavours that they grew up with, echoing the need for extra ice cream in traditional and nostalgic flavours.

This all highlights that manufacturers ought to severely contemplate nostalgia as a advertising and marketing technique. Providing inspiration for tapping into the attraction of nostalgia, quite a few UK retro manufacturers expanded into the ice cream class in 2023, equivalent to Barratt’s sweets, Angel Delight and Wrigley’s Hubba Bubba. In the meantime, established manufacturers and market leaders have additionally used nostalgia of their advertising and marketing campaigns: Ben & Jerry’s has featured retro merchandise alongside their ice cream of their social media campaigns, and Baskin-Robbins reverted to utilizing colors from their authentic emblem of their 2022 rebrand.

If you need to study extra about nostalgia as a advertising and marketing technique, check out Mintel’s extremely informative Nostalgia Advertising Highlight Article.

Ice cream will at all times be a consolation meals. It’s unlikely that customers will cease turning to their favorite indulgent frozen deal with in occasions of uncertainty within the close to future. Nevertheless, how the idea of ‘consolation’ resonates with customers is altering, and ice cream manufacturers must be acutely aware of various shopper expectations when contemplating new product improvement and advertising and marketing campaigns. Some customers wish to be reassured that they don’t seem to be damaging their well being, and even enhancing it, when consuming ice cream. Some wish to expertise one thing new, and get a small portion of pleasure via a novel flavour. Or some simply wish to really feel the nice and cozy embrace of nostalgia, and it gained’t even soften their ice cream.

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Mintel is continually monitoring innovation, figuring out traits and gaining insights. To study extra concerning the newest product improvements within the food and drinks business, obtain Mintel’s Most Revolutionary 2024 report at present.