Premium ice cream inclusions
As news breaks that sales of ‘stick’ ice creams from vans are down by one-third in just three years (Mintel, 2013), inclusions and toppings specialist Pecan Deluxe Candy (Europe) believes the trend is almost wholly attributable to the increasing availability of inclusion-packed luxury ice creams at affordable prices for home consumption.
The company, which produces inclusions for premium ice creams such as cookie dough and micro mallows, is constantly innovating to meet demand from a growing number of manufacturers for new flavour and texture options. Pecan Deluxe commercial director Graham Kingston explained: “I’m really not surprised – if saddened from a nostalgia point of view – that the traditional ice cream van lolly and ‘99’ cornet are flagging in popularity. Lifestyles have changed, families are busier and the cheerful chimes of the van doing its rounds simply don’t provide the call to action that they used to do.
“Gone are the days when the supermarket freezer presented us with the grand choice of vanilla, raspberry ripple or, if we were very lucky, rum and raisin flavour tubs of ice cream – there’s now a veritable cornucopia of colours, flavours and textures at our fingertips. Families can have a premium product in their freezer and moderate its consumption so it is still viewed as a treat, rather than queuing for a cornet or lolly at a time that doesn’t necessarily fit in with mealtime planning.”
All Pecan Deluxe products are made entirely of natural ingredients in segregated facilities, including baked cookie pieces, which are the latest addition to the range, available in a selection of flavours including double choc chip and fruit/spice combinations.
Graham Kingston believes that inclusions could also help to rejuvenate sales from ice cream vans, of which there are only 500 left in the country. He said: “Consumers are looking for a point of difference, an interesting and delicious experience from a treat that they can enjoy in their own time and space. A plain stick lolly or chocolate flake just doesn’t cut it any more, but offer exciting new toppings and inclusions like fruit-flavoured sugar pearls, strawberry fudge or micro mallows, plus unusual sauces, and servers could really pep up their offering and compete more effectively with in-home consumption.
“Growth in premium tubs is here to stay for the foreseeable future and, underlining that point, we have a number of fabulous new products in development to meet demand. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool in communities, and if the mobile ice cream trade could just widen its horizons and innovate along with us, I’m confident that sales would soon be on the up again.”
