In our first installment of FlavorScience, we explore how to tackle the formulation and flavor challenges that can arise when creating a frozen dessert. Our experts cover everything from bases to inclusions to variegates, as well as popular label claims, such as reduced sugar and plant based.
North America’s frozen dessert market is forecasted to grow 3-5% through 2025. Here's how producers can step up ice cream innovation to meet demand and align with changing consumer cravings.
While the healthier eating trend is here to stay, consumers are still looking for ways to add indulgence to their daily menu. Fortunately, continued innovation across the food and beverage landscape means healthy and indulgent don’t have to be mutually exclusive anymore. One category benefiting from creative formulation is the ice cream and frozen dessert space. For producers planning their ice cream innovation strategy, navigating the path to in-market success is easier with answers to the consumer and category drivers influencing product acceptance.
Ice cream and other frozen desserts have an indulgent design. The sweet, cold, rich, creamy, and flavorful elements of ice cream deliver a feel-good eating experience that’s almost irresistible.
New Zealanders hold the global record as ice-cream lovers, enjoying about 60 pints per person every year. But North Americans are ‘all-in’ with ice cream. More than 90% of residents consume 50 pints per person, generating more than $12 billion annually!
Producers are stepping up ice cream innovation to meet demand and align with changing consumer tastes. In our summary of the latest trends, you’ll find formulation insights to fuel your NPD.
From coconut milk yogurt to almond milk creamer and oat milk frozen desserts, consumers are showing an appetite for exploring plant-based dairy offerings. The demand for sweet frozen plant-based treats is leading producers to launch diverse options featuring soy, coconut, almond, oats, cashews, and pea protein.
We explored some consumer expectations around plant-based dairy products and some possible formulation opportunities with flavor and texture in a previous post. In this article, we focus more on plant-based frozen desserts and how different bases and flavors can help satisfy customer expectations and build market share across the dairy aisles.
What's your first memory of ice cream? For me, it was walking up to the local soft serve, Frosty Freeze, across from my old high school in Metro-Detroit. On top of their broad flavor assortment, Frosty Freeze offered an impressive selection of unique dips for customers to indulge in, like cherry, butterscotch, peanut butter, blue raspberry, and even cotton candy! Consumers are continually seeking out flavors that permit them to relax and indulge. Flavors provide a sense of comfort or even spark a new taste adventure.
Trend-watchers and industry experts predict that interest in enjoyable and indulgent food will rise this year. Consumer insight research from Mintel suggests that you can deliver indulgence in several ways, from full-on decadence to permissible or healthy indulgence. When you're creating frozen desserts, use flavor, variegates, and inclusions to elevate the taste experience.
What is it about the tangy taste of fresh apple cider that makes us happier? Do you notice that even thinking about a warm, gooey cinnamon roll can make your mouth water?
When the calendar flips to September, we leave summer behind for a new season. We start craving fall flavors even if the hot temps stick around. Despite changes to our routines this year, the flavors we associate with fall and winter seem strongly connected to cheerful times like:
