Ice cream innovation: the flavour challenge

摘要

With ice cream and frozen dessert products dominating the frozen food market and seeing a 12.9 per cent year-on-year growth in 2019 according to the market analysts Kantar, it is no surprise to see that the demand for innovative and exciting products is on the rise. Ice cream sales in the UK have increased on average by 6.6 per cent a year between 2015 and 2020 [2], and 54 per cent of Italian consumers said they would buy more ice cream if it contained all-natural ingredients, according to Mintel GNPD. This shift has led to increased competition among manufacturers, who are having to adapt to changing drivers -be that reduced fat/sugar options, vegan offerings, or responding to demand for innovative flavours. With consumer expectation high and plenty of opportunity for innovation, there is potential for manufacturers to succeed in this space, but a key challenge remains: how to achieve the all-important creamy mouth-feel of dairy desserts that consumers know and love, in less traditional recipes and without compromising on flavour or texture.