The inside scoop: A deep dive into the out-of-home ice cream market

The inside scoop

With ice cream being a £605m industry out-of-home and the nation’s second-favourite dessert, our research reveals what consumers are looking for when purchasing a frozen treat.

For fifteen years, we've been supplying foodservice providers with branded dessert ingredients. Our goal is to empower operators to create impressive desserts and snacks by merging their culinary skills with our confectionery offerings.

The power of the brand

Brand familiarity plays a massive role in demand; 79% of McDonald’s consumers have expressed a desire to see more confectionery brands on desserts. McDonalds have used several of our leading brands in its McFlurry range, including SMARTIES®, AERO® and KITKAT®.

As our previous research has shown, branded confectionery plays a significant role in boosting sweet bakery’s ‘wow factor’. More than a third (36%) of diners associate the appearance of a particular brand on a menu with a feeling of familiarity and/or comfort. The presence of a brand instills trust in a venue for 29% of respondents and nearly a quarter (24%) of diners believe that encountering a specific brand signifies a higher quality menu.

Consumers are looking for personalisation

When it comes to the reasons Brits would pay more for their ice cream, ‘something they can’t create at home’ plays an important factor.

With its gaining popularity, consumers want to see how their favourite cold treat can be personalised. Nine out of 10 people (89%) say they like to embellish their ice cream with sauces, sprinkles, nuts and the like.

Consumers’ most popular ice cream picks are:

• Flavoured sauces (45%)
• Chocolate pieces (34%)
• Sprinkles (26%)
• Nuts (26%)
• Fudge/caramel pieces (22%)

There’s an expansive array of options for personalising ice cream, ranging from format and flavours to toppings. This diverse range of choices presents ample opportunities for growth and evolution within the ice cream industry.

Launching new KITKAT® sauce

These findings coincide with the foodservice launch of our new KITKAT® Sauce with wafer pieces, to help operators bring the iconic flavour onto their dessert menus.

With a delicious combination of chocolate and wafer, two popular ice cream toppings, the squeezable sauce allows operators to effortlessly enhance a variety of desserts on their menus.

Explore the report

To celebrate the beginning of the warmer months to come, and to help foodservice operators understand the leading insights and trends of the ice cream industry we have developed a new report: ‘The Inside Scoop.’ Packed with exclusive insights and market data on what consumers are looking for and what they value in this sector.

We are passionate about bringing our iconic confectionery brands into OOH desserts; and with ice cream being a top choice for consumers, we wanted to explore how operators can maximise the category. We hope this report is useful in helping your business to take advantage of the many opportunities the ice cream market brings.