Ice Cream
Trends: Texture!

Ice Cream
Trends: Texture!

When it comes to ice cream new product development, indulgence remains key.

Creating unique textural experiences in ice cream products can signal indulgence, a premium experience and decadence for consumers.

In Mintel’s May 2019 US Ice Cream and Frozen Treat Report consumers were asked:

“Which of the following would encourage you to try a new frozen treat product?”

34% of respondents say that they would like to see new textures in frozen treats. ¹

Discover several ways that we see artisans and brands amplifying texture in ice cream product development:

Hyper Indulgent Inclusions
New Sensorial Experiences
Show-stopping Appearance
Playful Packaging

Source: Blue Bunny

Load’d Sundaes from Blue Bunny are made with tons of toppings swirled together in soft ice cream.

Hyper Indulgent Inclusions & Toppings

Consumers are looking for hyper indulgence in their ice cream treats, whether it is through more chocolate inclusions or heavenly swirls of flavor.

From the “freak shake” trend to companies creating “loaded sundaes” on the retail shelves, these decadent products provide consumers with more indulgent ice cream inclusions and toppings.

New Sensorial Experiences

“I want to try new and exciting ice cream containing chocolate experiences.”

In Barry Callebaut’s own 2018 consumer research study, 77% of North American consumers agreed they want to try new and exciting ice cream containing chocolate experiences.²

Beyond over-the-top mix-ins for favorite ice cream flavors, companies are getting creative with the texture they deliver to consumers. Whether it’s via a layer of chocolate crunch or a soft, gummy layer (as seen in the trendy mochi ice cream), multi-sensorial experiences prevent consumers from getting bored.

Magnum ice cream in a crackable tub. Rich chocolate shards swirled in velvety vanilla ice cream.

Source: Magnum Ice Cream

My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream combines a premium ice cream interior with a pillowy sweet exterior made from sweet rice dough.

Source: My Mochi

Source: Gordo’s Homemade Ice Cream

Gordo’s Homemade Ice Cream bars from Chicago, IL.

Show-stopping Appearance

Ice cream is definitely a category in which products do not have to be smooth and perfect.

From Barry Callebaut’s own 2018 consumer research, we learned that 60% of North American consumers agree that premium ice cream can have an irregular, or non-uniform appearance. ³

Barry Callebaut sees artisans and brands bringing this ice cream trend to life through the integration of deliciously crunchy toppings, especially on popsicles and ice cream sticks.

Playful Packaging

Finally, packaging plays a large role in showing consumers just how texturally interesting an ice cream product is. Pictures of caramel swirls and chunks of brownies featured on the pack cue consumers that this is a product that will allow them to indulge. Furthermore, some ice cream brands have taken this a step further in recent years, creating products that call out layers of texture, and even using clear, or translucent packaging to show consumers just how texturally interesting a product is!