Ice cream is a Summery dessert treat loved by all ages. While I am by no means suggesting that ice cream is a treat only for the warmer months, it is true that with the temperatures rising outside we are all thinking about how to get our hands on a Choc 99!
With ice cream on the brain, I came up with a few predictions for the South African Summer months.
Plant-based ice creams for the masses
A few months ago, Unilever launched its first mass commercial vegan ice cream treats in Sweden and Finland. The range kicked off with an all plant-based Cornetto, followed quickly by a vegan Magnum ice cream. As both brands have a strong footing in South Africa, I think we can see the introduction of these variants in the display cases in the coming months.
Nostalgia and childhood flavours make a big impact
For a few years now, ice cream trends have been leaning towards a more mature style - think salted caramel and coffee flavours. This summer I predict we will see ice cream becoming unashamedly childlike and playful. Think candy toppings, marshmallow treat cones, pastel soft serve swirls and chocolate dippings.
Eat your vegetables!
Vegetable ingredients in sweetened ice creams has been a growing trend for some time now - beetroot’s bright flavour has been sneaking into sorbets all over SA. Avocado is a common ingredient in vegan ice creams, providing a rich creamy texture, with a mostly neutral flavour profile. Expect to see ice creams using pumpkin, ube (a purple filapino tuber) carrot, and even green peas!
Breakfast inspired flavours
Anything breakfast inspired has been a hot trend for some time, and now we see these flavours crossing over into ice cream flavours. Cinnamon buns, maple syrup and peanut butter toast, yoghurt and berry flavours are something we can see soon. Also look out for ice creams featuring doughnut chunks, croissant shreds and even French toast crumble!
Frozen treats for grownups - ice cream gets boozy
Summer and cocktails go together like vanilla and chocolate, and we’ve seen some very creative concepts coming out of the wine and spirit industry in places like the US (we recently spoke about wine in a tin!). Rosé sorbet - or frozé as is it affectionately known - is sure to be the must have refreshing treat of the Summer.
Functional ice cream - added goodies
High protein ice cream has been a huge trend in the US this year, with brands such as Halo Top sweeping across in the globe with their almost-too-good-to-be-true high protein, low energy ice cream tubs.
Insect ice cream
This is a prediction that we sincerely hope will fizzle out early on - even though insect ice cream is already here! Insect-eating is common in some cultures, but for some of us, it still brings on strong “ick!” feelings! The food industry has a strong focus on high protein content combined with more sustainable farming methods, and all the signs point to ice creams made from insect milk being the next big thing.
